Postcard IN-288600

The Himalayas is a mountain range which separates the Great Indian Plains from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to 9 of the 10 highest peaks on Earth, including the highest - Mt. Everest.
The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mt. 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 blood pheasant is the only species in genus Ithaginis of the pheasant family. Blood pheasants live in the mountains of Sikkim, Nepal, northern Myanmar, Tibet and central and south-central China, where they prefer coniferous or mixed forests and scrub areas near the snowline.

The blood pheasant is the state bird of the Indian state of Sikkim.