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Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) Alternate name(s): "Grey Partridge*" (not to be confused with the Eurasian "Grey Partridge") Size: 29-34 cm (male); 26-30 cm (female) Body mass: 260-340 g (male); 200-310 g (female)

Oman: Family Group 1 Family Group 1 table Grey Francolin Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Grey Francolins are roughly chicken-sized, mostly ground-dwelling birds. Their highly cryptic plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Grey Francolins have a dark-brown head with a broad, russet to chestnut supercilium and cheek patch. They have creamy lores and a creamy throat patch with a thin black fringe around it. The rest of the plumage is mostly light greyish-brown, with darker grey barring on neck and chest and back. The belly, vent and undertail coverts are more heavily barred and the flanks also have two long brown streaks. The wing feathers are boldly barred in various hues of grey and brown, with additional light-grey streaks. Females lack the creamy throat patch and the black line under it. They do not have any brown bars on the flanks either. They are somewhat smaller than males and have slightly duller colours, in particular in the breeding season. The irises of both sexes are brown. The short, slightly down-curved bill is grey. The legs and feet are pinkish-grey. Juveniles resemble females, but have duller colours yet.

Taxonomy, classification See Grey Francolin at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Grey Francolin is available HERE . There are at least three recognized races of Grey Francolins. Altogether, their range spans from the entire Indian subcontinent and a small north-western coastal fringe of Sri Lanka in the East via the (near-)coastal southern part of Pakistan into southern Iran. In the western part of this range (arid south-eastern Iran and southern Pakistan), race "mecranensis" is found. Grey Francolins, race "mecranensis", are also present on the northern fringe of the Arabian peninsula, in near-coastal parts of the UAE and in the northern and eastern coastal parts of Oman (but not the wetter southern parts of the coastline of Oman). Grey Francolins have a preference for relatively open country with scattered (preferably thorny) shrubs or hedgerows for cover. They can often be found foraging in (dry) grassland, parks, but also on bare soil and in wasteland. They roost in small trees.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "mecranensis" Grey Francolins, race "mecranensis"(?), can be observed regularly on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat. Although shy, they always find an area, for example in the arboretum, where they are undisturbed to stay, while often there is a lot of human activity going on around them. Seen by us on a daily basis in the timeframe August 2009 - May 2010. We do not know whether these birds were introduced from Iran, or found their own way across the Persian Gulf.

Photos

Race "mecranensis"(?)

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Grey Francolins, left, have a dark-rufous to black line running horizontally under their pale chin patch that is absent in females. Males also show rufous streaking in their flanks, in front of the wings, that females don't have.

Small covey of Grey Francolins; the second bird from the right is a male - note the prominent black band under the creamy throat patch and also the rich colours of the wing bars
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

MALE

Lateral view of a (possibly young) male Grey Francolin; note the black band under the creamy chin patch and the faint brown bars on the flanks
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Grey Francolin; note the absence of rufous barring on the flanks and the inconspicuous throat patch
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Near-lateral view of a female Grey Francolin
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Sex unknown

Near-dorsal view of a Grey Francolin
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Small covey of Grey Francolins foraging in a dry wadi under an overhanging acacia tree; the very moment this photo was taken the sentry spotted the human at a distance of 50 m and within a few seconds everybody was gone
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of a juvenile Grey Francolin checking out the observer; note the absence of a chin patch
[Sun Farms, Sohar, May 2010]

Near-frontal view of a female Grey Francolin, left, with a juvenile
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat]

Grey Francolin chick demonstrating the intended use of the benches
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Covey

Grey Francolins are shy birds that will not allow humans to approach them. Yet they live on the campus of Sultan Qaboos University, with frequent human disturbances. They have repeatedly been seen by us using the ever watchful resident Red-wattled Plovers as their sentries, see photo below. Although they usually try to run out of harm's way, they do fly occasionally. They use their flight skills to roost in trees at night.

Grey Francolins using the service of a Red-wattled Plover as sentry
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat]

No, not a North-American Great Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), but a female Grey Francolin in fast retreat
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat]

Food, Diet

For a Grey Francolin there is always something interesting to be found on the ground
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Grey Francolins drinking water from micro-irrigation sprinklers
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Grey Francolins drinking water from micro-irrigation sprinklers
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

grfranc_20160513.mp3

mecranensis (Muscat, Oman)

Contact call? (male)

© MD

More Grey Francolin sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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