Painted Francolin vs Black Partridge
Francolinus pictus compared with Melanoperdix niger
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Painted Francolin | Black Partridge |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Francolinus pictus | Melanoperdix niger |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Phasianidae | Phasianidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Vulnerable |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 27.8 cm (10.9 in) | 26.8 cm (10.6 in) |
| Weight | 291.0 g (10.26 oz) | 280.5 g (9.89 oz) |
| Diet | Eats seeds, grain, invertebrates, and plant material; forages in dry grass and scrubby areas of … | Eats seeds, invertebrates, and small fruits on floor of Bornean and Sumatran lowland rainforests. Scratches … |
| Clutch Size | 4-8 | 2-6 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
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 …
Black Partridge
Infrequently recorded; gives a series of sharp, nasal 'krek' calls from peat swamp forest floor. Alarm is a low explosive cluck; poorly documented due to rarity and secretive habits.
Geographic Range & Migration
Painted Francolin
Endemic to India; resident of open scrub, dry grassland, and farmland across most of peninsular India.
Black Partridge
Resident in lowland and montane forest of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo up to 1,500 m. Found in primary forest.
Conservation Status
Painted Francolin
Black Partridge
How to Tell Them Apart
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.
Black Partridge
Strongly dimorphic: male is entirely glossy jet black; female is rich rufous-chestnut with dark barring on wings and finely scaled underparts. Extreme sexual dimorphism with no overlap in colour.
About These Birds
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.
Black Partridge
A small sexually dimorphic partridge (~280 g) of family Phasianidae, males entirely black and females rufous-brown. Endemic to lowland rainforests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Highly secretive, foraging on the forest floor for seeds and invertebrates in dense undergrowth. Vulnerable; declining with rapid lowland deforestation and conversion to palm oil plantations.