Grey francolin

Ortygornis pondicerianus

Group: Upland birds
Size class: Small (under 10 kg)
Family: Phasianidae

Range

Asia

Habitat

Scrub
Farmland

Range

Countries it is found in

16 countries

Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
India
Iran
Mauritius
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Qatar
Réunion
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Sri Lanka
United Arab Emirates
United States

Range from:Wikipedia country bird lists — read 2026-08-05

Chapter 01

Overview

The grey francolin (Ortygornis pondicerianus) is a francolin of the plains and drier parts of the Indian subcontinent and Iran, formerly also called the grey partridge. Gmelin described it in 1789 from Sonnerat's 'partridge of Pondicherry', and in 2019 it was moved from Francolinus, together with the crested and swamp francolins, into the resurrected genus Ortygornis. Three subspecies are recognised, from southern Iran and Pakistan to southern India and Sri Lanka. It forages on bare or thinly grassed ground in scrub, open country and cultivation, and is rarely found above 500 m in India or 1,200 m in Pakistan. It ranges south of the Himalayan foothills from the Indus valley east to Bengal and into north-western Sri Lanka. It has been introduced to the Andaman and Chagos islands and to Nevada and Hawaiʻi. The IUCN lists it as least concern; it is described as common across most of its range.

Chapter 02

Identification

A medium-sized francolin: males 29–34 cm and 260–340 g, females 26–30 cm and 200–310 g. It is finely barred all over, with a pale face and a buff throat edged by a thin black border. The only similar species is the painted francolin, which has a rufous vent. Males can carry up to two spurs on each leg; females usually have none. The Iranian and Pakistani race is palest, the northern Indian one darker, and birds of the southern peninsula richer brown with a darker rufous throat and eyebrow. It flies weakly, in short spurts before dropping into cover, showing a chestnut tail and dark primaries. Its local name, teetar, echoes the loud, repeated ka-tee-tar… tee-tar call.

Chapter 03

Behaviour

Grey francolins are usually seen in pairs or small groups, and their loud calls carry in the early morning; pairs sometimes duet. They forage on the ground for seeds, grain and insects, especially termites and beetles, and occasionally take larger prey such as snakes. When disturbed they usually run off, and if they do take wing they fly low and briefly. They roost together in low, thorny trees. The main breeding season is April to September. The nest is a hidden scrape on the ground, or sometimes a niche in a wall or rock, and holds six to eight eggs; larger clutches may come from other hens laying in the same nest.

Chapter 04

Hunting

Across much of its range the grey francolin is caught with low nets, and calling decoy birds bring it in easily. Calling males attract challengers in the breeding season, and decoys were used to trap birds for fighting; in the northern Indian subcontinent it has long been domesticated for fighting, the hand-reared birds growing to 500–600 g against about 250 g in the wild. In Hawaiʻi it is a game bird on all six main islands — Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. In Hawaiʻi game birds may be hunted only with shotguns or bow and arrow, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset during the seasons the Department of Land and Natural Resources announces, on public land and on private land with the owner's permission. Hunters need a Hawaiʻi hunting licence, which requires a hunter education course, plus a current Wildlife Conservation Stamp and Game Bird Stamp.

Sources

Sources: Grey francolin — Wikipedia, Grå frankolin — Wikipedia (sv), Game Bird Hunting — Hawaiʻi DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife — read 2026-10-29

Coturnix coturnix

Same subfamily (Perdicinae)

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