Satyr Tragopan : The Gem of Mountains

More than three years of search and thousand time visiting ‘Khaliya Jungal ‘ at Munsyari, Uttarakhand. finally I got this bird first time in april 2017 near Khaliya top. That day I was after male Monal Birds, I was trying to get his photo but suddenly I show ‘satyr tragopan’ was crossing my way, I was shocked …. Totally, but good thing was I did not forget to clicking his photos and luckily I got some nice photos.

It was my first encounter with this beautiful birds than I try to understand about his food habits, life style and habitat and soon I understand that, it’s very difficult to know much about this birds because this bird reside in moist oak and rhododendron forests with dense undergrowth and bamboo clumps but years of study I found that like others animal or birds they have there on territory.

And more interesting thing is when it is mating season, male satyr tragopans grow blue horns and a Blue & Red wattle. When ready to display, they will inflate their horns and hide behind a rock, waiting for females to pass by. When one does, they will perform an elaborate and attractive display in front of the females. At the end of the display, the male will stretch to his full height and show off all of his ornaments. they are shy and wary animals, The breeding season extends from April to June,  Three to five eggs are laid per clutch, and then incubated for approximately 28 days.

and about food, Diet comprises seeds, fresh leaves, moss, bamboo shoots, berries and insects

 I wanted to photograph during mating season with blue horn and blue wattle and it happens on 24 April 2018, although I could not find blue horn, but I am sure soon I will.

If we talk about colors Females are brown. Males are usually red with blue, black, and white spots and freckles.

Satyr Tragopan localy known as ‘long’ and belongs to the crimson horned pheasant, is a pheasant found in the Himalayan reaches of India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. They range from 2200 to 4000 meter in summer and 1800 meter in winter. The male crimson horned pheasant is about 70 cm long.

Although the least threatened of the tragopans, satyr tragopans still face many threats. The species is thought to have a moderately small population that is subject to hunting and habitat loss throughout most of its range.