Chinese Monal
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| Chinese 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 pheasants. The plumage is highly iridescent. The male has a large drooping purple crest, a metallic green head, blue bare skin around the eyes, a reddish gold mantle, bluish green feathers and black underparts. The female is dark brown with white on its throat.
Largest of the three monals, up to 80cm in length, the Chinese Monal is restricted to mountains of central China.
The scientific name commemorates the French statesman Edmond Drouyn de Lhuys.
Due to ongoing habitat loss and degradation, limited range 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
