Grey Francolin
Encyclopedia
The Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus is a species of francolin
found in the plains and drier parts of South Asia
. They are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting
.
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The francolin is barred throughout and the face is pale with a thin black border to the pale throat. The only similar species is the Painted Francolin
, which has a rufous vent. The male can have up to two spurs on the legs while females usually lack them. Subspecies mecranensis is palest and found in arid north-western India, Eastern Pakistan and further west in Southern Iran. Subspecies interpositus is darker and intermediate found in northern India. The nominate race in the southern peninsula of India has populations with a darker rufous throat, supercilium and is richer brown. They are weak fliers and fly short distances, escaping into undergrowth. In flight it shows a chestnut tail and dark primaries. The race in Sri Lanka is sometimes given the name ceylonensis or considered as belonging to the nominate.
:
, along with several other species of francolin
.
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The loud calls of the birds are commonly heard early in the mornings. Pairs of birds engage in duet calls. The female call is a tee...tee...tee repeated and sometimes a kila..kila..kila and the challenge call kateela..kateela..kateela is a duet. They are usually seen in small groups.
The main breeding season is April to September and the nest is a hidden scrape on the ground. The nest may sometimes be made above ground level in a niche in a wall or rock. The clutch is six to eight eggs but larger clutches have been noted.
Food includes seeds, grains as well as insects, particularly termites and beetles (especially Tenebrionidae and Carabidae). They may occasionally take larger prey such as snakes.
They roost in groups in low thorny trees.
Several species of feather mites, helminth and blood parasites have been described from the species.
Several authors have described the running of the birds as being particularly graceful:
John Lockwood Kipling
, Rudyard Kipling
's father, wrote of this and other partridges such as the Chukar Partridge:
Francolin
Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...
found in the plains and drier parts of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. They are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting
Cockfight
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
.
Description
Painted Francolin
The Painted Francolin or Painted Partridge is a species of Francolin found in grassy areas in central and southern India and in the lowlands of southeastern Sri Lanka. They are easily detected by their loud calls especially during the breeding season. Thomas C...
, which has a rufous vent. The male can have up to two spurs on the legs while females usually lack them. Subspecies mecranensis is palest and found in arid north-western India, Eastern Pakistan and further west in Southern Iran. Subspecies interpositus is darker and intermediate found in northern India. The nominate race in the southern peninsula of India has populations with a darker rufous throat, supercilium and is richer brown. They are weak fliers and fly short distances, escaping into undergrowth. In flight it shows a chestnut tail and dark primaries. The race in Sri Lanka is sometimes given the name ceylonensis or considered as belonging to the nominate.
Subspecies
There are three recognized subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
:
- F. p. interpositus (HartertErnst HartertErnst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929....
, 1917) - North Indian Grey Francolin - northwest India and Pakistan - F. p. mecranensis (ZarudnyNikolai ZarudnyNikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny was a Ukrainian-Russian explorer and zoologist of Ukrainian origin, who studied the fauna, especially the birds of Central Asia. He was born in Gryakovo, Ukraine . He wrote his first ornithology book in 1896 and made five expeditions in the Caspian region from 1884 and...
and Harms, 1913) - Baluchistan Grey Francolin - arid southeastern Iran and southern Pakistan - F. p. pondicerianus (Gmelin, 1789) - nominate - southern India and Sri Lanka
Habitat and distribution
The Grey Francolin is normally found foraging on bare or low grass covered ground in scrub and open country, and is rarely found above an altitude of 500 m above sea level in India, and 1200 m in Pakistan. The distribution is south of the foothills of the Himalayas westwards to the Indus valley and eastwards to Bengal. It is also found in north-western Sri Lanka. Introduced populations are found in the Andaman and Chagos Islands. They have been introduced to Nevada in the United States of America and HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, along with several other species of francolin
Francolin
Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...
.
Behaviour and ecology
The main breeding season is April to September and the nest is a hidden scrape on the ground. The nest may sometimes be made above ground level in a niche in a wall or rock. The clutch is six to eight eggs but larger clutches have been noted.
Food includes seeds, grains as well as insects, particularly termites and beetles (especially Tenebrionidae and Carabidae). They may occasionally take larger prey such as snakes.
They roost in groups in low thorny trees.
Several species of feather mites, helminth and blood parasites have been described from the species.
Status
They are hunted in much of their range using low nets and easily caught using calling decoy birds.In culture
The species has long been domesticated in areas of northern India and Pakistan where it is used for fighting. The domesticated birds can be large at around 500-600g, compared to 250g for wild birds. They are usually carefully reared by hand and become as tame and confiding as a pet dog.Several authors have described the running of the birds as being particularly graceful:
John Lockwood Kipling
John Lockwood Kipling
John Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E. was an English art teacher, illustrator, museum curator, and father of author Rudyard Kipling.-Biography:...
, Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's father, wrote of this and other partridges such as the Chukar Partridge:
Other sources
- Johnson,J Mangalaraj (1968) Grey Partridge abandoning nest on removal of grass cover over its path to nest. Indian Forester 94:780.
- Davis,G (1939) On Indian Grey and Black Partridges (Francolinus pondicerianus and Francolinus francolinus). Avicult. Mag., 5 4(5):148-151.
- Gabriel,A (1970) Some observations on the Ceylon Grey Partridge. Loris 12(1):60-62.
- Sharma,IK (1983) The Grey Partridge (Francolinus pondicerianus) in the Rajasthan desert. Annals Arid Zone. 22(2), 117-120.
- Soni,VC (1978) Intersexuality in the Gray Partridge. Game Bird Breeders Avicult. Zool. Conserv. Gaz. 27(7), 12-13.
- Hartert,E (1917) Notes on game-birds. VII. The forms of Francolinus pondicerianus. Novit. Zool. 24, 287-288.
- Purwar, RS (1975) Anatomical, neurohistological and histochemical observations on the tongue of Francolinus pondicerianus (grey partridge or safed teeter). Acta Anat. 93(4):526-33.
- Purwar, RS (1976) Neuro-histochemical observations on the pancreas of Francolinus pondicerianus (grey partridge or safed teeter) as revealed by the cholinesterase technique. Z. Mikrosk. Anat. Forsch. 90(6):1009-16.