Srinagar (Jammu-Kashmir): The Jammu and Kashmir administration has declared Kalij Pheasant as the bird of the Union Territory, while, Hangul (Kashmiri Stag) has been retained as the UT animal.
According to the notification issued by the Department of Forests, Environment and Ecology, "Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has approved Kalij Pheasant (kalij teeter)as the bird of UT."
On August 5, 2019, the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked and the former state was divided into two union territories. Simultaneously, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 was enacted.
With the implementation of the Reorganisation Act, the property and treasury were also divided between the two UTs. But there was an issue regarding adopting new UT animals and birds for Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
On August 31, this year, the Ladakh administration announced the adoption of snow leopard as UT animal while the black-necked crane was adopted as UT bird.
READ:Black-necked crane state bird of Ladakh; J&K rooting for Kashmir flycatcher
Interestingly, the black-necked crane was also a UT bird of Jammu and Kashmir before August 5, 2019.
"Since the black-necked crane is a native of Ladakh, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had to adopt a new bird. After much research, Kalij Pheasant was adopted," a senior wildlife official said.
Kalij Pheasant is a native of the Himalayan range. Though this bird is not endangered and comes under the least concern category but is widely found in the Jammu and Kashmir region. The male birds are colourful while the females are grey. Both have red coloured heads. In terms of length, males are 63 to 70cms in length while females are 50 to 60cms long."
