What are the main characteristics of black francolins?

            Black francolins are medium-sized birds, found mainly in northern states and in Assam.

            These birds prefer to live in areas where tall grasses and shrubs like sugar cane, reeds etc. grow. The normal clutch size between 10 and 14 eggs and only the hen incubates the eggs. They feed on insects, larvae, seeds, shoots, roots and leaves.

            The males are black with a white cheek patch and brown neck, while the females are much paler. The male francolins are larger than the females. The black francolin only flies when disturbed. It has a pheasant’s explosive flight, but prefers to creep away unseen.

            Outside India, the black francolins are seen in countries like Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan.

            The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized and evaluated them as a species of “Least Concern”.

            The black francolin is the state bird of Haryana.