The Himalayas, is a mountain range which separates the Great Indian Plains from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on the Earth, including the highest, Mount Everest. The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains from less than 500 meters to more than 8,000 meters in a few hundred kilometers has resulted in a huge diversity of flora and fauna. Nearly 1000 birds have been recorded in the Himalayas of which 15 species are fully endemic.
The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (Tragopan melanotepbalus) is found along the Himalayas from Hazara in northern Pakistan in the west to Uttarakhand within India to the east. The species is highly endangered and globally threatened. They are found from an altitude of 1,750 m to 3,600 m, going up higher in summer. Their preferred habitat is the dense understorey of temperate, subalpine and broad-leaved forest. The world population is estimated atfewerthan5,000 individuals.
IUCN Status: Vulnerable (VU)