Grey francolin vertical composition, DNP

The grey francolin (formerly also called the grey partridge) Francolinus pondicerianus is a species of francolin found in the plains and drier parts of South Asia. They are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar…tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting. The francolin is barred throughout and the face is pale with a thin black border to the pale throat. The only similar species is the painted francolin, which has a rufous vent. The male can have up to two spurs on the legs while females usually lack them. Subspecies mecranensis is palest and found in arid north-western India, Eastern Pakistan and Southern Iran.They are weak fliers and fly short distances, escaping into undergrowth after a few spurts of flight. In flight it shows a chestnut tail and dark primaries. Food includes seeds, grains as well as insects, particularly termites and beetles. They may occasionally take larger prey such […]

Grassland

Pristine grassland are a very difficult find these days. These vast tracts of land with tall grass that become a golden hue when they dry host myriads of species of avifauna. This image is one such that shows the beauty of the grassland with two of its inhabitants – the Black buck and the Black Drongo. What makes the subject very interesting is the blackbuck seems to have lost a part of the mighty horn that it has. The blackbuck is also called as the Indian antelope, is a near threatened species as per IUCN. The main reason for the diminishing blackbuck is the habitat loss, hunting. Blackbuck is the state animal of Andra Pradesh. There are many tribes that rever blackbuck and there is some cultural reference and the blackbuck is called as krishna mrig / Krishna Jinka.

Grey francolin

  Commonly called in Hindi as the Teetar, because of the call it makes. An inhabitant of the cultivable land, grassland and the scrub forest. The male birds of the species can be identified by the two spurs on their legs while the female birds lack them. Males have an anchor shaped black mark on throat that is absent in females. Males larger than females. These birds are extremely shy and when approached would generally take to running and if persisted with the approach will take to their wings and fly for a short distance. They mainly feed on the grass seeds, grains. Some of the times they are observed to take termites and insects too. These birds are classified as least concern as per IUCN. These birds are hunted for meat and are sometimes grown as pets and are used for fighting.