Gregariousness 
Black francolins never gather in flocks nor are they usually ob- 
served in family parties, Normally birds were found well-scattered 
throughout the cover and it was not common to put up two birds together 
though they might be only 25 to 50 feet apart. Very occasionally, we 
have flushed as many as five francolins from an acre of sugarcane but 
for the most part, they are more widely scattered. Baker indicates 
that hen and cock remain together throughout the year; Frome (22) be- 
lieves them to be solitary. 
During the breeding season from March through September males are 
often seen or heard calling but never two from the same branch or rise 
of ground. When cocks were calling from all directions, Baker never 
saw a vocal bird challenged or even approached by another, although our 
trappers in Pakistan caught over 500 birds, mostly males, using male 
callers. 
Psychology and Behavior 
In the wild, the adult black francolin is generally a more phleg- 
matic bird than is its gray cousin. Yet day-old chicks in a brooder 
are so wild and easily disturbed that they injure themselves or even die 
of shock much more readily than do quail or pheasant chicks. Once the 
youngsters are a month old they settle down, often becoming fairly tame. 
Males, even during the breeding seasons are not particularly pugnacious, | 
though in West Pakistan, on two occasions, we did come upon a pair of 
cocks in vigorous combat. Even at this period they never seem to bother 
other birds either in captivity or in the wild. 
Psychologically-they are more complex birds than are the gray franco- 
lins. The blacks are slower, but their reactions in captivity are less 
predictable. Adults, being dusted for lice, often picked at our fingers 
and hung on tenaciously. Occasional trouble was also encountered from 
cannabalism when numbers were closely confined together. Where heavily 
hunted, they learn rapidly to run rather than to trust to their wings. 
Calls 
The call of the male black francolin is so unlike that of other 
birds that it must be heard to be believed. First, there is a low gut- 
tural note similar to a click of the tongue, followed immediately by 
zuzzeeee, zzzzeeee, zzee, zzee, which to us sounds not unlike a cicada. 
Hume (26) translates this into, “Be quick pay your debts," the muslims 
into, "Subhan, tere kudrut." (Oh, Omnipotent One, Thy power who shall 
Fitly describe?). A favorite campfire description is “Lehsan, piaj, 
adrakh" (garlic, onions, ginger) and the British Tommies gave to it an 
understandingly military connectation as "fixed bayonets, straight ahead." 
Thornhill (50) indicates that "in Mesopotomia the call is shriller than 
in India and contains an extra syllable." On a still day the call may be 
heard for at least a third of a mile. When surprised the bird rises with- 
out cackling and we have never heard the female utter a call of any kind. 
33 
