grass (Panicum turgidum), millet (Pennisetum typhoidum) and sorghum 
(sorghum sp.). Insect material occurred in 24 of the 38 crops examined 
and represented 34.5 percent of all material eaten. 
The need for additional definitive studies of francolin food habits 
from various parts of its range is evident, in that out of 28 genera of 
plants identified in the two studies, only three, Panicum, Sorghum and 
Triticum were common to both. 
The data from both studies were combined and published in India in 
1960 (Faruqi, et al. 20). To facilitate ready reference to this, the 
part referring to gray francolin is reproduced here. 
"Like the black, the gray francolin is omnivorous. Of the crops 
examined 23 contained only plant material, one only insects, and in 30, 
both plant and animal items were found. From these, 33 species of plants 
and 7 orders of insects were identified. Miscellaneous items eaten in- 
cluded fragments of coal, baked bricks, grit, and snail shells. Animal 
material, other than insects, was limited to a few solifugids and spiders. 
"A great variety of weed seeds with some cultivated grain made up 
the bulk of the plant food. Members of the grass family are also well 
represented. Seeds were the prominent form of the plant food eaten. The 
variety and quantity of food taken is surprising. For example, one crop 
collected in upper Sind on February 26 contained 1 wheat seed (Triticum 
vulgare), 1 seed of wild melon (Citrullus colocynthis), 1500 of Dacty- 
loctenium scindicum, 2000 of jungle rice (Echinochloa colonum), 4 of 
Abutilon sp., 5 of cockscomb (Celosia sp.), 1 unidentified seed, 1 green 
leaf, 1 large black beetle, 1 small beetle, and 2 termites, Another crop 
collected in Rajasthan in July contained green blades, hundreds of ter- 
mite Larvae (white ants), 6 cutworms, 18 tenebrionids, 3 carabids, 8 
hydrophillids, 3 weevils, and grit. 
"Insect food was taken abundantly in the summer with gray franco- 
lins. showing a high preference for ants and termites. Interestingly 
enough beetles, some of which were of large size, comprised a substantial 
portion of the diet. In winter, where mustard is available, it is a 
favorite food." 
The analysis of foods eaten in summer, fall, and winter is presented 
in Table 5. No birds were collected in the short period represented by 
spring. 
A few seemingly unusual items might be mentioned. Soman (48) found 
a partially digested snake (Boiga trigonata), 9 inches long, in a bird 
collected near Poona, India. Hume (26) indicates that cattle dung, as 
well as the grain present therein, is commonly consumed. Phythan-Adams 
(39) considered the gray francolin to be a "dirty eater" and recommends 
that crops be examined, when shot near villages, before cooking. Dunbar- 
Brander (17) writes that gray francolins "used to collect around famine 
camps and can often be seen around villages, busy with excreta." Yet 
among the several hundred grays shot in India and Pakistan we never 
located a gray with feces in its crop. 
66 
