Noise and Climate Change Threaten Himalayan Monal's Habitat

The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is a large, colourful pheasant found across the high-altitude forests and alpine meadows of the Himalayas. It is the state bird of Uttarakhand and the national bird of Nepal. Though the species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, it receives the highest level of legal protection in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. This mismatch exists because past hunting for its iridescent plumage sharply reduced local populations even though the bird's overall global range remained wide.

Such mismatches are common across India's fauna. A species can carry a reassuring global status while facing real pressure in specific valleys or states. This is one reason states also designate their own faunal symbols to draw attention to locally significant species, such as Maharashtra's Blue Mormon butterfly, declared the country's first official State Butterfly. The monal itself is found across the high Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, always at elevations where it moves seasonally between summer breeding grounds and winter shelter. Two recent studies from researchers based in Uttarakhand examine two separate but connected threats to this bird: how tourism-driven noise is changing its vocal behaviour, and how climate change could reshape its habitat over the coming decades.