Family Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse (Phasianidae)
Least Concern
Painted Francolin (Francolinus pictus)
Taxonomy
French: Francolin peint German: Tropfenfrankolin Spanish: Francolín pintojo
Taxonomy:
Perdix picta
Jardine and Selby
, 1828,Bangalore, India
.
Subspecies and Distribution
F. p. pallidus
(J. E. Gray, 1831) – NC India (S & E Gujarat, C Rajasthan, S Uttar Pradesh and N Madhya Pradesh) S to c. 20° N.
F. p. pictus
(Jardine & Selby, 1828) – C & S India N to c. 20° N.
F. p. watsoni
Legge, 1880 – Uva Province, in E Sri Lanka.
Descriptive notes
c. 31–32 cm; 242–340 g. Both sexes like female F. francolinus, but differ in lack of chestnut collar, have brighter rufous face and throat, no dark... read more
Voice
Considered to be less vocal than F. francolinus. Territorial call, regularly repeated (... read more
Habitat
Inhabits mosaic of grassland and cultivation with scattered bushes on rolling hills, intersected... read more
Food and feeding
Seeds of grasses, weeds and cereals, and fresh grass and cereal shoots, berries and drupes, such as Zizyphus; also termites and... read more
Breeding
Nesting believed to coincide with rains in India, in Jun–Oct, but Apr–Jun also reported; in Sri Lanka, Mar–Jun. Probably... read more
Movements
Sedentary. When being searched for, sits very tight until suddenly bursts into flight on rapid... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Mace Lande: pictus/pallidus safe; watsoni vulnerable. No information on current status of watsoni... read more
Present species, F. francolinus and F. pintadeanus appear to form a group of closely related species; hybridization with F. francolinus occurs in areas of contact. Race pallidus possibly represents only one extreme of clinal variation#R. Three subspecies recognized.