Gray Francolin Life History

Habitat

In their native range, which stretches from southern Iran to Bangladesh, Gray Francolins inhabit dry grasslands, thorn scrub, and dry-season croplands. They generally occur below 500 meters (1,600 feet) elevation, but have been recorded as high as 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) in Pakistan. Introduced populations in the Hawaiian Islands use dry, low-elevation habitats, including shrublands, savannas, and the edges of kiawe thickets. They also utilize watered lawns and golf courses.

Food

Gray Francolins feed frequently on seeds and insects. They also eat plant buds, flowers, leaves, rhizomes, tubers, shoots, fruits, berries, small lizards, and tree snakes. They forage on the ground in shrubby areas, forest edges, and cultivated fields, digging or scratching with the bill and feet to uncover grains.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Placed on bare ground and hidden under vegetation.

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

Gray Francolins are likely monogamous, and pairs stay together outside the breeding season. The female alone incubates a clutch of 4–10 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, but they stay with their parents for several months. Outside of the breeding season, Gray Francolins occur in small family groups of 4–8 individuals. They are most active early in the morning or late in the afternoon, foraging on the ground in small groups.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Gray Francolin’s conservation status as Least Concern. The population size is unknown, but this species has an extremely large range, suggesting that the population, which appears stable, is greater than the Vulnerable threshold of 10,000 mature individuals. 

Credits

BirdLife International. 2018. Francolinus pondicerianus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22678728A131904182. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22678728A131904182.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. (2021). Gray Francolin (Ortygornis pondicerianus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gryfra.01.1

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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