// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
A beautiful Himalayan bird is changing its voice due to human activity, research shows
The male monal has distinctive green, blue and copper plumage
A sharp increase in human activity is having an impact on the way a Himalayan bird lives and communicates, two studies by Indian researchers have found.
The monal, a pheasant native to Himalayan mountain forests, is deeply woven into the region's cultural, folklore and identity. The eye-catching monal - the male has distinctive green, blue and copper feathers - is the state bird of India's Uttarakhand state and the national bird of Nepal, reflecting its cultural significance across the Himalayas.
But studies show that infrastructure development and tourism are squeezing its habitat, while increasing noise is altering how it communicates with potential mates and rivals.
Researchers from Uttarakhand conducted two separate studies over five years which flagged key threats to the bird.
One study found that the birds are forced to move higher in the mountains as their natural habitat in the alpine meadows above the tree line get crowded. The other says the monal is changing its pitch to cut through human noise in a busy valley.
"These two studies give a useful warning for other more vulnerable species - if the monal is forced to change both its voice and its address, how are the more sensitive species responding?" says Vishal Singh, an environmental practitioner working on ecology and climate issues in the Himalayas.
Dr Rajeev Lochan, lead researcher of both studies, told the BBC that they chose to study the monal as the bird has a narrow habitat range - it moves seasonally between the lower montane zone - an ecological belt found on the lower slopes of the mountains - and high-elevation alpine zones. This, he says, makes it a key indicator of ecosystem health in the north-western Himalayas.
"If the species is facing issues on this particular landscape, there might be a chance that the ecological disturbances are affecting other birds too," said Lochan.
Found high in the Himalayas, the monal lives in alpine meadows above the forests