Wild Bird Wednesday 717 - Grey Francolin

The Grey Francolin (Ortygornis pondicerianus) is a bird the resembles a partridge, and has a convoluted and difficult taxonomic history.  Many studies have been made of the relationship of species of Francolin  to each other and to other 'game birds'.  It's probably beyond the scope of this post, and definitely outside the scope of my understanding to clearly explain this aspect of Grey Francolin's biology!

The Grey Francolin is a medium-sized Francolin, with males averaging around 30 cm and females being a little smaller, it is barred throughout and the face is pale with a thin, black border to the pale throat. 

The Grey Francolin is a ground dwelling bird and is normally found in bare or low grass-covered areas of scrub and open country.  The Grey Francolin is widespread in south Asia.  The majority of times I saw this birds in India, they were feeding in the vegetation by the sides of roads.  Of course, those observations are biased by the fact we spent a lot of time birding from vehicles!  But it was clear that this species seemed to like open, sparse areas.

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