The Himalayan monal is a showy large bird with brilliant colours. Its back is blue, and its neck is green, and its feathers have an attractive, metallic shine. When it flies, a beautiful orange tail is visible. A typical bird will be around 70 cm long. But the females are slightly smaller in size and are streaky brownish in appearance.
As their name suggests, these birds are found in the Himalayas, especially in the open forests and meadows. They can be seen even in snowy high altitudes up to 4000 m. They are well equipped to dig into the ground through snow. They eat roots, seeds, berries, shoots and invertebrates.
The people of Uttarakhand call the bird, ‘the monal’ and consider this bird to be their official state bird. The Himalayan monals are also seen in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.