Black Francolin Life History

Habitat

In their native range, Black Francolins inhabit open habitats such as croplands and mixed grasses and shrubs, often near rivers and irrigation canals. They typically occur below 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) elevation but reach 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) elevation in some parts of India and Nepal. In their introduced range in the Hawaiian Islands, Black Francolins inhabit dry grasslands and pasturelands with kiawe thickets, sugarcane fields, and dry scrublands. They are most common below 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) elevation but reach 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) elevation on the island of Hawaii.

Food

Black Francolins eat mainly seeds and insects. They also eat plant buds, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, tubers, shoots, fruits, berries, small amphibians and reptiles, earthworms, spiders, and mollusks. They forage on the ground in shrubby areas, forest edges, and cultivated fields, using their bill and feet to dig or scratch at the ground.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Placed on bare ground near a bush, at the base of a clump of grass, or near an anthill.

Nest Description

A shallow scrape or depression on the ground, either unlined or with a limited lining of grass, stems, twigs, leaves, or feathers.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Black Francolins are secretive birds that are difficult to see except when males sing from exposed perches in the morning and evening. Even when disturbed, they tend to run rather than fly away. Black Francolins are likely monogamous, and pairs stay together outside the breeding season. The female alone incubates the eggs, but both sexes care for the young by brooding them and showing them food. Chicks are mobile right after hatching and can feed on their own. Black Francolins are not particularly social, typically occurring singly, in pairs, or in trios.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Black Francolin's conservation status as Least Concern and estimates the global population size at 300,000–850,000 mature individuals.

Credits

BirdLife International. 2018. Francolinus francolinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22678719A131903818. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22678719A131903818.en.

Floyd, Ted (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp, and T. Inskipp (2011). A Guide to the Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Islam, K. (2020). Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blkfra.01

Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P.L. and Berrett, D.G. (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

Raine, H. and A. F. Raine (2020). American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawai'i. Scott & Nix, Inc. New York, NY, USA.

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