Other reports on foods eaten were fragmentary. Biswas (7) found 
the remains of maggots in the stomach of a francolin shot near Thankot, 
Nepal. Baker (4) in referring to the Assam black francolin, indicates 
"when hill rice is ripe, they are fond of lying up in the thick cover 
and birds shot from there have crops full of rice," 
Water for drinking apparently poses few problems, in part because 
over much of the range dew is heavy and commonly used, in part because 
of the amount of succulent vegetation and insects eaten. The provision 
of fresh lettuce daily, when birds are penned, markedly reduced their 
interest in the water also provided. Baker (4) quotes Pittman as 
saying that F. f£. henrici drink regularly morning and evening, an obser- 
vation not confirmed by our own field work. 
General Habits 
Movements and Mobility 
Francolins are nonmigratory and, to us, did not appear to move far 
from their home coverts even in the face of a very occasional snowfall 
but there were unconfirmed reports that birds will travel 30 to 40 miles 
to tall sugarcane. Baker (4) indicates that they shift from thicker 
cover into fields, long grass, or open scrub to feed in early morning 
and late afternoon. He further states that in autumn and the early part 
of winter, individuals, especially the young, straggle considerable dis- 
tances from the jungle. 
In our experience these birds appeared to be quite sedentary even 
when wild-trapped, moved, and liberated in a new location. Few reports 
of birds being seen over 5 miles from the point of release, within the 
first year thereafter, have been received from State wildlife biologists 
who have released over 5,000 wild-trapped individuals in various coverts 
in the United States. Even in the second and third years, it was the 
exception to find these birds over 10 miles from the area of liberation. 
Normally black francolins prefer escape by flying rather than by 
running unless harried. When frequently hunted they soon learn to run 
through the cover in a sort of loping walk that can still keep them well 
ahead of a sportsman with a gun. 
Flight 
Black francolins fly straight though seldom high, often preferring 
to keep within 10 to 20 feet above ground or cover. They do not appear 
to be as fast on the wing as bobwhite or Hungarian partridges but are 
nevertheless easy to miss with a shotgun, Flight distances seldom ex- 
ceed 500 feet unless suitable cover is farther removed. Once settled in, 
birds are apt to sit tight if the cover is dense or to run if it is open. 
Country folk in Iraq commonly stated that rain-drenched black franco- 
lin were often incapable of flight. We never met with a bird in this con- 
dition but did note that blacks in our pens, thoroughly soaked by monsoon 
rains, were understandably sluggish and easy to catch by hand. 
29 
