White-crested Kaleej

The white-crested kaleej can be found in small numbers below 2,000m, from the western Himalaya to western Nepal. The male is chicken-like, with black-and-white plumage, a red face and a white crest. The female is brown in colour, except for a patch of red on the face.

Habitat ranges from thickets of bamboo and shrubs adjacent to cultivation and water sources, to pure banjh and kharu oak forest, and mixed cedar and blue pine. Most of the kaleej’s roosting sites are in banjh oak forests. It can also be sighted at dusk and dawn close to the villages in GHNP’s ecozone.

White-crested Kaleej (Click to enlarge)

 

White-crested Kaleej in GHNP ( Click to enlarge)