Francolinus, inclusive of Ortygornis, Scleroptila, Chaetopus, and Clamator of some writers, contains forty or more species, ranging over the Ethiopian Region, and from Arabia, Cyprus, and Asia Minor to Persia, India, and South China. The coloration is rich and varied, and the sexes are commonly alike, while hybrids undoubtedly occur. Apart from a special study, a general idea is given by the following descriptions. F. vulgaris, the Black Partridge, ranging from Cyprus, Palestine, and Asia Minor to Assam, formerly occurred in Spain, Italy, Sicily, Greece, several of the Mediterranean Islands, and North Africa.[[162]] It has the whole plumage blackish, with buff markings on the crown, wings, and mantle, white ocelli on the upper back and flanks, white barring on the lower back and tail, a white patch below the eye, and chestnut collar and under tail-coverts. The bill is black, the feet are orange with a small blunt spur. The collar of the brownish female is confined to the nape, and the throat is white. In F. levaillanti of South Africa, the "Redwing" of English colonists, both sexes have the crown brown, edged with black and white, which continues down the nape and widens at its base; a black and white band outlines the throat and forms a patch below it, while the rest of the head is rufous. The upper parts are black, brown, and buff, with pale chestnut remiges; the under parts are of the last colour, varied with buff and black, and barred with brown on the flanks. Spurs are occasionally wanting. F. adspersus of western South Africa is very distinct, both male and female being brown above, with fine black and grey mottlings and black lores; the head, neck, and lower surface are white, with narrow black bars. The spurs are long and sharp. F. albigularis of West Africa is grey-brown, with rusty crown, white throat, buff under parts, and bright bay patches on the wing-coverts, the upper back and neck exhibiting white streaks edged with black. The lower back is blotched with black, the spurs are moderate.
Of some five Asiatic species, F. sinensis–introduced into Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion–alone reaches eastward of Assam to China; whereas F. pondicerianus has been imported into Rodriguez and the Amirante Islands.
Francolins are found in family parties rather than coveys, and prefer localities near water, though these may consist of rushy swamps, cultivated lands, stony slopes, or maritime plains. Dry situations are, however, favoured, a sufficiency of cover being the chief requisite, and an altitude of six thousand feet being occasionally attained. Some forms roost upon the ground and apparently never perch, others–especially in South Africa–resort habitually to trees at night or when disturbed; but probably the style of country and the amount of persecution account for this difference, while the decrease of the commoner species in certain parts emphasises the fact that they are an easy prey to gunners and other foes. These birds run with great rapidity, and are extremely difficult to flush, still more so for a second time; when forced to rise they do so with a whirring noise, and fly off heavily but swiftly, to pitch again as soon as possible. Reposing in the shade during the hot hours, they feed in the morning and evening, at which times the loud, shrill cry of three bell-like notes, or the "hysterical laugh," may be heard in all directions. The diet consists of insects, shoots of plants, berries, seeds, and bulbs, the powerful bill being used for digging. The well-concealed nest resembles that of a Partridge, the six to fourteen eggs, found in autumn as well as spring,[[163]] are olive-brown or buff, occasionally with small brown spots or a few white shell-markings.
Ammoperdix bonhami of South-West Asia is a desert form of an isabelline colour, with blue-grey crown and throat, black forehead and superciliary stripes, white lores and ear-coverts, a few black markings near the rump, chestnut hues on the tail and flanks, and longitudinal black bars on the latter. A. heyi, ranging from Nubia to the Jordan Valley and the Persian Gulf, has no black on the head, the frontal band being white, and the cheeks and mid-throat chestnut. The rufous and buff females of the two species are indistinguishable. They inhabit wastes and stony ravines up to four thousand feet, in pairs or small coveys; crouching, to avoid detection, on the ground, which matches their colour; flying like Quails; and uttering a reiterated double whistle. The eight to twelve eggs, of a plain drab tint, are deposited among stones or under tussocks, with hardly any nest.
Caccabis rufa, the Red-legged or French Partridge, introduced into England from France, and inhabiting Western Europe generally from Belgium and Switzerland to the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Elba, and South Italy, occurs in the Atlantic Islands, but not in Africa. The crown is grey, a black band outlines the throat and reaches past the eyes to the forehead, the upper parts are reddish-grey or brownish, and the tail is partly chestnut. The abdomen is bright buff, the chest grey with black margins to the feathers; chestnut, white, and black stripes adorn the flanks; the bill, feet, and orbits are red. The male is only distinguishable by having rudimentary spurs. C. saxatilis, the Greek Partridge, has the chest plain and the flanks without white. It inhabits the Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, Balkans, and Sicilian hills; the eastern race, C. chukar, ranging from the Ionian Islands to Aden, Persia, Mongolia, and China, and being naturalized in St. Helena. C. magna of Tibet shews a double gorget of black and reddish. C. petrosa, the Barbary Partridge, has a chestnut crown and collar, with white spots on the latter; it occupies North-West Africa, Sardinia, several of the Canary Islands, and Gibraltar. C. spatzi of South Tunis differs slightly. C. melanocephala of South-West Arabia has a black crown, bluish upper parts, flanks marked with black and white, and a black mark down the fore-neck. The members of this genus frequent cultivated country, grassy desert-hills, and scrub-covered ground, up to sixteen thousand feet; they are unsuspicious in quiet parts, but such is not the case in England. They run and fly far and fast, but are exceptionally hard to flush, trusting almost entirely to their feet, and occasionally when hard pressed resorting to trees. The loud note may be syllabled chuk-chuk-chukar-chukar; the food consists of leaves, fruits, seeds and insects; the nest is a scantily-lined excavation, containing from seven to fourteen yellowish-white eggs with reddish specks or blotches. The pugnacious males are used by the Cypriots to attract their wild kindred; but in Britain they have been said–probably in error–to drive away the Common Partridge.
Tetraogallus tibetanus, the Tibetan "Snow-Cock" or "Snow-Pheasant," is dark grey above, with buff markings towards the wings and rump, and black vermiculations; the under parts are white, with a grey pectoral band and black streaks posteriorly. There is a yellowish naked patch behind the eye, the bill is orange, and the feet are red. The sexes are similarly coloured, but the male has a pair of strong blunt spurs. The range extends from East Turkestan to West China, where T. henrici occurs, with a grey chest. T. himalayensis, found from the Himalayas to the Hindu Kush and the Altai Mountains, has the pectoral band and a patch on each side of the head and nape chestnut, the chest white with black bars, the orbits yellow, the bill dusky, and the feet orange. T. caspius, extending from the Taurus to Transcaspia and South Persia, has the upper breast grey with black spots, and lacks the chestnut on the head; T. caucasicus of the Caucasus has the occiput and nape rufous, and the chest black and buff; T. altaicus of the Altai range has the last spotted with white, but no white bases to the secondaries as in the two preceding forms. These large active birds haunt stony hill-sides above the forest-zone and near the snow-line, being gregarious, yet keeping in pairs; they are wild and wary, fly straight and swiftly, utter shrill whistles or cackling notes, and feed upon insects, buds, roots, grass, moss, and fern. From six to nine yellowish or olive eggs with reddish or purplish spots, generally one-third larger than those of the Capercaillie, are laid in a hollow in the soil, sheltered by a stone or overhanging tuft.
Tetraophasis obscurus of East Tibet is in both sexes brownish-grey above, with blackish markings anteriorly, olive tints on the mantle, and buff on the wings; the throat and some blotches on the flanks are chestnut, the breast is grey with black spots, the abdomen grey and buff, the tail mainly black and white. The male has two stout spurs. T. széchenyii of Central Tibet has the throat fawn-coloured, and the whole of the under parts blotched with chestnut. The habits are apparently somewhat similar to those of the last genus. Lerwa nivicola, the "Snow-Partridge," ranging from the Himalayas to Western China, has black upper parts with white cross-bars, which become rufous buff on the mantle and wings; the under surface is chestnut, with black and white markings only shewing towards the belly. A pair of spurs distinguishes the cock from the hen. This species inhabits broken grassy or heathery sides of mountains in the midst of snow, up to an altitude of at least fourteen thousand feet; it is tamer than the Snow-Pheasant, flies equally well, and nestles under jutting rocks. The coveys feed on moss, seeds, and insects, and utter a short double Grouse-like note or a harsh whistle.
Sub-fam. 4. Odontophorinae,[[164]]–The "American Partridges," are Quail-like birds, rarely attaining the size of a Red Grouse, and readily distinguished from their kin by the doubly-toothed mandible and the lack of spurs. The sexes are alike, if not otherwise stated.
Of some four species of Dendrortyx, ranging from South Mexico to Costa Rica, D. macrurus, of the former country, has a black head and throat, with a long white streak above and below each eye, and a rufous tip to the short, full occipital crest. The neck and back are chestnut and grey; the rump, wings, and tail are browner with black mottlings; the breast is greyish with rufous streaks. The bill, feet, and naked orbits are coral-red. Callipepla squamata, of the South-Western United States and Mexico, has a grey-brown head, with white-tipped crest and buff throat; the wings, rump, and tail are brownish-grey with white inner margins to some of the scapulars and secondaries; the mid-breast and belly are fawn-coloured. The remaining plumage is grey, with black margins to the feathers which cause a scaly appearance, and shews dusky triangular spots beneath. Oreortyx pictus of the Western United States possesses two very long black occipital plumes; olive-brown upper parts with white edges to the scapulars and outer secondaries; slaty head, neck, and lower surface, with chestnut throat and abdomen, of which the former is laterally margined with white; a white band from the chin to the lores; and chestnut flanks, barred with black and white. Lophortyx californicus, of the same countries, has the head and crest of two club-shaped feathers black, a yellow forehead, olive-grey upper parts, a black throat outlined with white, buff mid-breast, and chestnut belly, each feather of the last two being edged with black. A white band connects the eyes and continues behind them, while white streaks grace the sides and flanks. The female lacks the black and white pattern on the head, and has whitish lower parts with yellow-brown throat. Two other species extend the range to Mexico, Philortyx fasciatus of South Mexico has an olive-brown upper surface, washed with rufous on the crown and the greyer neck and mantle, and barred or blotched with black and buff on the lower back, wings, and tail; the blackish crest is tipped with red; the throat and lower parts are white, with a few median spots and pronounced black bars on the chest, sides, and flanks, where the feathers have rusty margins. Eupsychortyx cristatus of Curaçao and Aruba has half a dozen congeners, ranging through Central and northern South America. It has a buff crest, crown, and throat; black and white nape and cheeks; reddish-grey upper parts mottled and blotched with black and buff; and rufous lower surface, barred with black, and spotted on the chest, sides, and flanks with white. In the female the black on the head is replaced by buff. Ortyx virginianus of the Eastern United States is rufous and grey above with black blotches, the crown is blackish, the sides of the head are transversely striped with black and white, the white throat is margined with black, the lower parts are reddish-white with black chevrons. The hen-bird has a buff throat, and shews little black on the cheeks. This genus contains eight members, often called Colins, which range as far south as Mexico and Cuba. The three species of Cyrtonyx extend from the Southern United States to Guatemala; they all have full crests, highly-developed wing-coverts, and very short, soft tails. The sides of the head and neck exhibit a peculiar black and white pattern, while those of the body are grey, ocellated with white or varied with chestnut. The females lack the pattern on the head. As an example, C. montezumae is rufous above, barred with black, and streaked with buff and white; the breast being chiefly chestnut and the abdomen black. Dactylortyx thoracicus of Central America has brown upper parts, with black blotches and rufous and buff mottlings; the superciliary stripes, cheeks, and throat are chestnut, with a black patch on each side of the last; the under surface is reddish-grey with white shaft-stripes. In the hen the chestnut is replaced by whitish. The crest is not so full as in Odontophorus, of which some fourteen species extend from South Mexico to Bolivia and South Brazil. O. guianensis, ranging from Panama to Bolivia and Amazonia, has the head and throat mainly chestnut, the neck and mantle grey, the lower back reddish-brown–all except the grey portions being marked with buff and black; the mid-throat is grey, the under parts orange-brown, with dusky barring on the chest and sides. The naked orbits are reddish; the bill is black, the feet are rather lighter, as in the Sub-family generally. Rhynchortyx spodiostethus of Veragua and Panama has the crown brown, the rest of the head chiefly rusty-red, the mantle grey and brown, the lower back buff relieved by grey and black, the wings more chestnut, the lower parts dark grey, with white and buff centres to the throat and breast respectively, and black-barred flanks. R. cinctus of Veragua has a rufous chest and olive-brown cheeks.
As an instance of the habits we may take Ortyx virginianus, called Bob-white from the shrill triple whistle of the male, which resembles "Ah-bob-white." It is a wary denizen of open woods and pastures, found in coveys, and roosting on the ground, though habitually taking refuge in trees, where it crouches upon the branches. It runs very swiftly, but rises, when hard pressed, with a whirring noise to fly for a short distance. The food consists of succulent shoots, seeds, berries, acorns, beech-nuts, and insects; the nest is imbedded in grass or placed at the foot of a tree, and is made of a little herbage, which may even arch over it; the white or drab eggs number from nine to eighteen. The male is said to assist in incubation, two broods being occasionally reared in a season. The female utters a clucking sound, and will feign lameness when with her brood.