Chinese Monal

Green 's monal ( Lophophorus lhuysii )

The Green 's monal ( Lophophorus lhuysii ), also known as Chinese monal or Grünschwanzmonal, is a rare type of gloss pheasants from the Chinese highlands. It was named after the French Foreign Minister and Ambassador Drouyn Édouard de Lhuys.

Features

The cock reached a size of 80 cm, the hen 76 cm. The weight is about 3.6 kg. The males have a colorful, iridescent plumage. The head is green with a purple, bushy cover. The face area is blue. The neck is coppery. Back and tail have a purple to greenish shimmering tint. The plumage of females is gray to reddish- brown, the back is white and the tail red.

Dissemination and lifestyle

The occurrence of green pheasant tail - gloss is restricted to the highlands of northern and northwestern Sichuan at a height from 3.300 to 4.500 m. He prefers alpine and subalpine meadows with rhododendron plantings.

Its food consists of insects and plants of the genus Fritillaria.

Endangering

The Green 's monal belongs to endangered bird species in China. The 10,000 to 20,000 copies (estimated by BirdLife ) live in an area of 69,000 km ², which was drawn primarily by the Nutzholzwirtschaft affected. In addition, the flowers, which are among its main food, used in traditional Chinese medicine and occasionally pheasants also be chased.