Out from the foothills of the Himalayas and in Bihar we also en- 
countered a fair number of gray francolins in open forest cover, 
mainly second-growth. In the Palamau forest of western Bihar, we 
observed a family party of these birds along a forest road several 
miles from the nearest opening or cultivated patch. 
Topography and Elevation 
These birds are particularly common in flat to rolling country 
which is moderately to intensively cultivated, but broken up at frequent 
intervals by ditches, stony outcrops, stabilized sand-dunes, eroded 
lands or dry streambanks called nullahs. They will inhabit small slopes 
but avoid steep hillsides even though the latter are covered with light 
scrub growth. 
Regarding elevation, gray francolins are very common in the Indus 
Valley, near sea level, and fairly frequent along the flanks of the 
foothills of the Northwest Frontier at 1,000 to 2,000 feet. We even. 
trapped a few groups where our altimeter registered 4,600 feet in the 
Fort Sanderman district of the Northwest Frontier. They are also re- 
ported near Simla and in the Khangra Valley in northern India up to 
4,000 feet. They are not hill birds, however, for the vast majority 
are located in flat to rolling habitat at less than 2,000 feet. 
Soils 
As with the black francolins the grays are resident on the entire 
range of soils described on page 16. Their distribution does not seem 
to be limited by the presence or absence of available calcium though the 
sandy loams, common to many semi-desert ranges in West Pakistan and 
western India, are high in pH. These birds also are abundant on the 
often acid forest and hill soils that extend southward from the foot- 
hills of the Himalayas well out into the plains. Nor, if food and cover 
are adequate, do they hesitate to utilize even the more bleak saline 
and alkaline soil types that are common throughout most of their range. 
Climate 
The principal climatic characteristics of gray francolin range are 
warmth and dryness. Hot summers, mild winters with no snow and at least 
3 to 6 months of the year with little or no rain but with considerable 
dew, are normal conditions favorable to this species. Yet, in western 
Nevada, gray francolins, experimentally released in 1961, survived and 
bred following an abnormal winter in which temperatures receded to -12°F 
and snow was occasional for short periods (12). Situations such as this 
make wildlife biologists conscious of the limits of their knowledge and 
of the necessity of recommending emperical releases of some game birds 
in the absence of more definitive measurements of species adaptability 
to climatic factors. 
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