Sclater's Monal

Sclater's monal (Lophophorus sclateri) also known as the crestless monal is a Himalayan pheasant. The name commemorates the British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater. Sclater's monal is a large, approximately 68 cm long, monal pheasant. As with other monals, the male is a colourful bird. It has a highly iridescent purplish-green upperparts plumage, short and curly metallic green crown feathers, copper neck, purplish-black throat, white back, blue orbital skin, yellowish-orange bill and brown iris. In the nominate subspecies, the tail is white with a broad chestnut band, while the tail is entirely white in L. s. arunachalensis from western Arunachal Pradesh in India. The crestless female is mostly a dark brown bird with a white throat and tail-tip, dull bluish orbital skin and a pale yellow bill.