Reproductive Capacity 
Little, in detail, is known about the reproductive potential of this 
species. As the most abundant game bird over much of the Indian subcon- 
tinent it must be substantial. The facts, so far as is known, are as 
follows: 
Breeding age -- Gray francolins breed the first year following 
hatching. 
Number of eggs -- Normally 6 to 9 in each of 2 or possibly 3 clutches. 
Brood survival -- No information other than that it is not uncommon 
to see 4 to 6 half-grown youngsters with the parents. 
Life span -- From 5 to 8 years in captivity; unknown in the wild. 
Sex ratio -- Possibly somewhat unbalanced judging from the slightly 
larger numbers of males over females netted by our trappers. 
Renesting -- Probably will renest if the first nest is destroyed. 
Second broods -- Very common with some indications that third broods 
are sometimes raised. 
Diseases and Parasites 
The diseases and parasites identified from gray francolins parallel 
rather closely those recognized in black francolins and discussed on 
pages 35 to 37 of this report. Only one additional disease, ornithosis, 
was observed in a group of gray francolins, collected from northern India, 
in 1960. Positive identification was made by pathologists at the U.S.D.A. 
quarantine station in Hawaii and the birds were subsequently destroyed. 
No histomoniasis or blackhead was identified in the gray francolins 
although the cecal worm, Heterakis, was present in a few wild-trapped 
birds. Grays were found to be more resistant to fowl pox than blacks, 
the infection sometimes taking the form of nodules on the legs and feet. 
Typical lesions about the beak and eyes were also noted in a few cases 
though the symptoms were much less severe than with black francolins. 
No eyeworms were located among gray francolins but the incidence of 
heartworms (Paranchocerca rousselotti) was much greater than in black 
francolins, even from the same districts. Of 2,657 grays trapped within 
100 miles east to north of Delhi, the microfilaria, indicative of heart- 
worms, were found in the blood of 242 individuals. An interesting differ- 
ence in occurrence, by sex, was indicated in that 132 or 12.8 percent of 
the males, and 110 or 7.2 percent of the females examined, were found to 
be infected. The incidence of this parasite declined spectacularly in 673 
grays caught in the much more arid country about Jodhpur and examined by 
Wayne Bohl. Only 4 individuals or 1.2 percent of the males and 3 females 
(0.9 percent) were found with microfilaria, Since mosquitoes are a common 
vector for this parasite some difference is not entirely unexpected. Birds 
found to be infected with heartworms were,of course,eliminated from our pens. 
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