Elizabeth Gould first illustrated this western Himalayan species in Gould's A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, 1830-33. Thirty-five years later, in 1865, Gould compared it to a closely similar forktail found in the eastern part of the Himalayas, which he described in Proceedings of the Zoological Society, and both birds were illustrated in The Birds of Asia.
Elizabeth Gould illustrated a single perched bird with no background, but Richter portrayed the forktails in a mountain landscape similar to a description by Dr. Leith Adams, quoted by Gould. 'Among the tangled jungles by the sides of the mountain-torrents this beautiful creature sports from rock to rock; it flutters like a large butterfly, intently searching after its winged prey, now and then uttering a harsh scream as it runs along the water's edge with its tail expanded like a fan'.
The male and female are depicted lifesize, and a young bird is in the background.
N. Vigors, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1830-31, part 1, p.9
J. Gould, A Century of Birds from the Himalayas, 1830-33, pl.27
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Asia from northern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan east through northern and eastern India to southeastern Tibet, western, northern and eastern Burma, southern China and northern and central Vietnam