Bar-backed Partridge vs Painted Francolin
Arborophila brunneopectus compared with Francolinus pictus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Bar-backed Partridge | Painted Francolin |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Arborophila brunneopectus | Francolinus pictus |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Phasianidae | Phasianidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 26.3 cm (10.4 in) | 27.8 cm (10.9 in) |
| Weight | 292.5 g (10.32 oz) | 291.0 g (10.26 oz) |
| Diet | Forages on floor of Southeast Asian hill and montane forests for seeds, invertebrates, and small … | Eats seeds, grain, invertebrates, and plant material; forages in dry grass and scrubby areas of … |
| Clutch Size | 4 | 4-8 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Bar-backed Partridge
Loud, mellow 'hoo-WEE' whistle in pairs; first note lower and shorter. SE Asian hill forest species calling from dense cover at dusk and dawn. Alarm a clucking rattle.
Painted Francolin
Loud, insistent 'ka-TURR-ka' calls from Indian scrub; similar to Black Francolin but slightly higher and less grating. Alarm is rapid cackling cackle. Males call from termite mound or rock at …
Geographic Range & Migration
Bar-backed Partridge
Resident in Thailand, southern China, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. Found in dense forest and bamboo below 1,800 m.
Painted Francolin
Endemic to India; resident of open scrub, dry grassland, and farmland across most of peninsular India.
Conservation Status
Bar-backed Partridge
Painted Francolin
How to Tell Them Apart
Bar-backed Partridge
Back and wings brown with bold black-and-buff barring; throat and face buff with dark streaks; breast brown; flanks grey with white streaks; bare red eye-ring; barred back is the key …
Painted Francolin
Richly patterned; black above with large white spots; rufous-orange face and throat; white-spotted black flanks; rufous-chestnut underparts with black shaft streaks. Female lacks rufous on face; duller below.
About These Birds
Bar-backed Partridge
A medium-sized partridge (~290 g) of family Phasianidae, with boldly barred brown upperparts and a brownish breast. Inhabits subtropical and lower montane forests of northern Southeast Asia from Myanmar and Thailand to southern China and Indochina. Forages on the forest floor for seeds and invertebrates. Least Concern; broadly distributed across mainland Southeast Asian montane forests.
Painted Francolin
A small Phasianidae francolin (~291 g) of rocky hillsides, scrub, and dry grassland across peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Both sexes are intricately spotted and streaked in rufous and white. Shy; detected by resonant calls. Feeds on seeds and invertebrates on the ground. Least Concern; common locally.