Danphe (Himalayan Monal): The National Bird of Nepal

The national bird of Nepal is the danphe, known in English as the Himalayan monal and to science as Lophophorus impejanus. In Nepali it is called danphe or danfe, and it is widely referred to as 'Nepal ko rastriya charra' (Nepal's national bird). It belongs to the pheasant family (Phasianidae) and is a ground-dwelling landfowl of the high Himalaya.

The danphe is one of Nepal's cluster of official national symbols, which also includes the rhododendron (laligurans) as the national flower, the cow as the national animal, and the crimson-and-blue double-pennant flag. The bird was chosen as an emblem of the country's natural beauty and of its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual character, since the monal's many-coloured plumage is often read as a metaphor for Nepal's diversity.

The male danphe is the image most Nepalis recognise: an iridescent, jewel-like bird that shimmers with green, purple, blue and copper tones in sunlight. This striking appearance, combined with the bird's strong association with the high mountains that define Nepal, is why the danphe features so heavily in Nepali art, stamps, tourism branding and general-knowledge examinations.

The danphe's scientific name is Lophophorus impejanus. It was formally described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1790, originally under the name Phasianus impejanus, in his work Index Ornithologicus. The genus name Lophophorus comes from the Ancient Greek 'lophos' (crest) and '-phoros' (bearing), a reference to the male's distinctive metallic crest.

The species epithet 'impejanus' honours Lady Mary Impey (1749-1818), an English naturalist and wife of Sir Elijah Impey, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Fort William in Bengal. Lady Impey kept a menagerie in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and commissioned Indian artists to paint local birds and animals; specimens and illustrations from her collection helped Latham describe the species. For this reason the bird is also called the Impeyan monal or Impeyan pheasant.

The word 'monal' derives from the Nepali name for the bird. Across the Himalaya it carries many local names, but in Nepal 'danphe' (or 'danfe') is universal. It is worth noting that the danphe is also a cross-border symbol: the Himalayan monal is the state bird of the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, reflecting its wide Himalayan range.

The male and female danphe look so different that they can seem like separate species. The adult male is famous for carrying up to nine iridescent colours, produced by the microscopic structure of its feathers rather than by pigment, so the hues shift with the angle of light. He has a long, wiry metallic-green crest, a coppery-red back and neck, purple-blue upperparts, a green-and-blue throat, and a prominent white lower back or rump that flashes conspicuously in flight. The tail is rufous, and the bird has bare blue skin around the eye.

The adult female, by contrast, is a subdued mottled brown all over, providing excellent camouflage while she incubates eggs on the ground. Her identifying marks are a distinct white patch on the throat, a short crest, pale streaking on the body, and a white stripe on the tail. Like the male, she has bare bluish skin around the eye, which helps distinguish her from other brown Himalayan pheasants.

The danphe is a fairly large pheasant, roughly 60-75 cm (about 24-30 inches) long and weighing around 1.4-2.4 kg (approximately 3-5 pounds), with the male typically heavier and showier than the female. Juveniles and first-year males resemble the female before the males develop their full breeding colours.

The danphe is a bird of the upper temperate and subalpine Himalaya. It lives mainly at elevations of 2,100-4,500 metres (about 6,900-14,800 feet), in a landscape of oak and conifer forest, rhododendron thickets, mossy undergrowth and open alpine meadows near the tree line. This is the same rugged mountain terrain that draws trekkers to Nepal, which is why sightings are so often tied to famous trekking routes.

Its altitude shifts with the seasons. In summer, birds move higher, up towards the alpine meadows and even above 4,500 m in some areas as the snow retreats. In winter, when heavy snow covers the high slopes, they descend to lower forest, commonly around 2,000-2,500 m, to find food. This vertical migration is a defining feature of danphe behaviour.

Globally the Himalayan monal ranges along the length of the Himalaya, from eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan through India, Nepal and Bhutan to southern Tibet and far northern Myanmar. Nepal sits near the centre of this range, and the country's protected high-mountain parks hold important populations.

The danphe is chiefly a forager of the ground and soil. It uses its strong, curved beak to dig for tubers, roots, bulbs, seeds and shoots, and readily probes through leaf litter and even snow to reach food. Its diet also includes insects, grubs and other invertebrates, tender green leaves and berries, giving it a broad, opportunistic omnivorous diet that changes with the season.

Danphe are usually seen singly, in pairs or in small groups, and outside the breeding season they may gather in larger loose coveys. They are wary and quick to run uphill or take a fast, gliding downhill flight when disturbed, often accompanied by a loud, ringing call. Males are frequently spotted on open slopes in the early morning, catching the first sun on their metallic feathers.

The breeding season runs broadly through spring and early summer, roughly April to June. The female builds a simple scrape nest on the ground, sheltered under a rock or bush, and typically lays a clutch of several eggs (commonly around four to eight). She alone incubates and tends the young, relying on her camouflaged plumage to stay hidden, while the conspicuous male plays little role in raising the chicks.

The best chances of seeing a wild danphe are in Nepal's high-altitude protected areas, especially during early mornings in spring when rhododendron forests are in bloom. The bird is officially protected across a network of parks and conservation areas, and several of these overlap with Nepal's most popular treks, so many visitors encounter the national bird without any special effort.

Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park in the Solukhumbu region is one of the most reliable places, and danphe are regularly seen along the Everest Base Camp trail. The Annapurna Conservation Area, with its dense rhododendron forests, is another prime location, as is Langtang National Park north of Kathmandu. In Nepal's far west, Khaptad National Park is well known among birdwatchers for its Himalayan monal population.

Other strongholds include Makalu Barun, Shey Phoksundo and Rara National Parks, the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, and the Kanchenjunga, Manaslu, Gaurishankar and Api Nampa conservation areas. For visitors, the practical advice is simple: trek in the 2,500-4,000 m rhododendron and fir belt, set out at dawn, and scan open, grassy slopes and forest edges.

On the IUCN Red List, the Himalayan monal is assessed as Least Concern, because it still has a wide range across the Himalaya and a large overall population. However, the same assessment notes that the population trend is decreasing, so 'Least Concern' does not mean the species is free of pressure, particularly for regional populations such as those in Nepal and Pakistan.

The most talked-about threat is poaching for the male's crest. The metallic green crest feathers have long been prized as decorations, including on traditional hats, and as status symbols, which creates a direct incentive to hunt adult males. The birds are also hunted for meat and for their colourful plumage, and eggs are sometimes collected.

Beyond hunting, the danphe faces habitat loss and disturbance. Grazing pressure, forest degradation, expanding infrastructure such as roads and hydropower in mountain valleys, and human activity in high-altitude areas all reduce and fragment its habitat. In Nepal the bird is legally protected within the national park and conservation-area system managed by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), and its presence in these parks, combined with community conservation and eco-tourism awareness, is central to keeping the national bird secure for the future.