From Opus

Photo by Rajiv Lather
Karnal, India

Francolinus francolinus

[edit] Identification

Male

• Mainly black
• White spotting on back and flanks
• Chestnut neck collar
• White cheek patches
• Brown wings
• Red legs
  

The amount white spotting on the flanks varies considerably

Photo by lior kislev
Photographed at Btecha North Israel

Female

• Mainly brown
• Chestnut hind neck
• The depth of colour of the females varies

[edit] Distribution

Kashmir, Cyprus, south-eastern Turkey, Iran, southwest Turkmenistan and northeast India.

Introduced to Hawaii

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are 6 subspecies:

• F. f. francolinus:

• Cyprus and Asia Minor to Iraq and Iran

• F. f. arabistanicus:

• Southern Iraq and western Iran

Photo by Jugal Tiwari
Kutch, Gujarat, India, September 2009

• F. f. bogdanovi:

• Southern Iran and Afghanistan to southern Pakistan

• F. f. henrici:

• Southern Pakistan to western India

• F. f. asiae:

• Northern India

• F. f. melanonotus:

• Eastern India to Sikkim and Bangladesh

[edit] Habitat

Scrubby habitats with plenty of low cover. Grassland and other cultivated areas. Also wetlands.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

It nests in a bare ground scrape. 8-18 white-spotted pale brown/greenish eggs are laid.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes a wide variety of plant and insect food.

[edit] In Culture

State bird of Haryana (India).

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links