Chinese Monal
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| iChinese Monal | ||||||||||||||
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| Lophophorus lhuysii Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire & Verreaux, 1866 |
The Chinese Monal, Lophophorus lhuysii is one of the most brilliant of all pheasant. The plumage is highly iridescent in color. Male has large drooping purple crest, metallic green head, blue bare skin around eyes, reddish gold mantle, bluish green feathers and black below. Female is dark brown with white on its throat.
Largest of the three monals, up to 80cm in length, this beautiful bird is found and restricted to mountains of central China.
The scientific name commemorates the French statesman Edmond Drouyn de Lhuys.
Due to habitat degradation and illegal hunting, the Chinese Monal is evaluated as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Lophophorus lhuysii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable and the criteria used
