Bird name:

Black Francolin

Francolinus francolinus

Order

GALLIFORMES

Family

Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)

Code 4

BLFR

Code 6

FRAFRA

ITIS

175974

Breeding Location:

Savanna, Grasslands, Scrub vegetation areas

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Common to uncommon

Egg Color:

Olive-brown to brown with white spots.

Number of Eggs:

3 - 8

Incubation Days:

18 - 21

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Shallow scrape lined with grass, twigs, and leaves.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Black Francolin: Plump gamebird, male is mainly black below and golden brown above. Head is black with rufous-brown or tan crown and nape, rufous collar and white cheek patches. Brown scalloped back and wings. Lower back, rump, and uppertail coverts are black with fine white bars. Breast and flanks black with white spots. Female is similar but dull with no cheekpatch, and collar is replaced with a nuchal patch. Head and underparts are buff where the male shows black. Rump and uppertail coverts light brown. Juvenile resembles female, paler overall.

Range and Habitat

Black Francolin: Game bird introduced and established on Molokai, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Lanai and Kauai. Prefers areas of thick vegetation, usually near water.

Breeding and Nesting

Black Francolin: Three to eight white-spotted, olive-brown to brown eggs are laid in a shallow scrape on bare ground. Incubation is carried out by the female for 18 to 21 days. Both parents tend chicks after hatching. Young stay with parents through their first winter.

Foraging and Feeding

Black Francolin: Forages on the ground and eats a wide variety of seeds and insects. May also eat small amphibians, reptiles, earthworms, and spiders.

Vocalization

Black Francolin: Male sings a mechanical "kik-kik-kik", his territorial call is a loud and grating "kwee-kweeeee-kwee".

Similar Species

Black Francolin: Gray Francolin has gray-brown and buff body, buff instead of black throat, and lacks rufous collar.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America