Black Francolin – Francolinus francolinus

Black francolin is a game bird in the pheasant Phasianidae family of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.
It was formerly known as the Black Partridge.

Its bill is blackish brown iris, reddish legs feature a spur only in the male. In the adult male, crown and nape are pale brown with black stripes. Chin, throat and sides of the face that encircle a white ear patch are definitely black. A large bright brown collar traps the lower neck. Chest and lower parts have a black color with abundant white flecks on the flanks. The female has a brown cap and neck striped dark. Juvenile reminds a pale version of the female.

Black francolin occupies a variety of habitats: low cropland, with bushes, meadows with bushes, river deltas and lake shorelines provided by shrubs and reeds. Locally, you can find it on the cultivated slopes of mountains up to 2500 meters in India and Nepal in Asia, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Azerbaijan, northern Iran, Turkmenistan , Iraq and in southern Persia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bhutan. Attempts have recently been made to reintroduce it in Italy and Portugal.

Shy and cautious, you can rarely see him in open spaces, it usually travels in pairs or family groups, searching for food under the cover assets in cultivated agricultural areas early in the morning and evening. The male emits a hoarse voice and discordant from the ground at a low perch.

It is a monogamous species.

Its nest is a scrape on the ground, lined with grass and hidden under a tuft. The clutch size varies by region. Given the vast expanse of the range, the nesting period can vary significantly. It takes place between late April and June in the lowlands around the Caspian but it comes at different months of the year in the Indian subcontinent.

Its diet is mixed, it feeds mainly cultivated seeds, grains, wild herb seeds, fallen berries, stems and tubers, termites, ants and insects that it captures only the ground.