Painted Francolin

The Painted francolin hybridizes with the black francolin in the northern parts of it's range, the Painted francolin has a bright rufous face and throat. The underside of the Painted francolin has white spots and the legs are orange to yellow to red. The Painted francolin is arboreal. The legs of the female Painted francolin and the male Painted francolin have no spurs.

They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum is Chordata, the Class is Aves, the Order is Galliformes, the Family is Phasianidae, the Genus is Francolinus, the Binomial name is Francolinus pictus.

Subspecies
The nominate subspecie of the Painted francolin is found in Central and South India south of 20°N.

The subspecie found in the north is the Francolinus pictus pallidus is found in Udaipur. The Francolinus pictus pallidus subspecies has pale uppertail coverts.

The Painted francolin's population changes during and after monsoon, hunters capture large numbers of 300 from some areas.

Sounds
The Painted francolin is hard to find but are loud in the breeding season in June to October. The Painted francolin makes it's call in the early morning, the call of the Painted francolin is a guttural broken crow chee-kee-kerray- chee-kee-kerray which gets response from other birds. The Painted francolin makes a preliminary click heard from close. The Painted francolin calls from a mound, bush or tree stump. The Painted francolin calls at dusk in non-breeding season. The nest of the Painted francolin is a scrape in the ground. The female adult Painted francolin lays Six to seven smoky white eggs.

The Painted francolin cocks it's tail up while walking and when it is disturbed, it freezes and flushes when approached close. The Painted francolin roosts in trees and the ground.

Diet
The Painted francolin eats on grass seeds like Brachiaria ramosa and cultivated rice. The Painted francolin also eats Beetles and insects. The Painted francolin feeds on the tuberous root of Cyperus rotundus.

Habitat
The Painted francolin is found in patches in semi-dry undulating grasslands with scrub or cultivation.

The Painted francolin found from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and to the south peninsular India, the Painted francolin is not found in the Malabar coast or in the south of Coimbatore.

Breeding & Nesting
The Painted francolins breed from June to September. The nest is a scrape in the ground. About six olive-brown eggs are in a clutch.

Threats, Predators & Conservation Status
The Painted francolin's population changes during and after monsoon, hunters capture large numbers of 300 Painted francolins at a single time from some areas.