Category Zoology

            Black francolins are medium-sized birds, found mainly in northern states and in Assam.

            These birds prefer to live in areas where tall grasses and shrubs like sugar cane, reeds etc. grow. The normal clutch size between 10 and 14 eggs and only the hen incubates the eggs. They feed on insects, larvae, seeds, shoots, roots and leaves.

            The males are black with a white cheek patch and brown neck, while the females are much paler. The male francolins are larger than the females. The black francolin only flies when disturbed. It has a pheasant’s explosive flight, but prefers to creep away unseen.

            Outside India, the black francolins are seen in countries like Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan.

            The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized and evaluated them as a species of “Least Concern”.

            The black francolin is the state bird of Haryana. 

          The Himalayan monal is a showy large bird with brilliant colours. Its back is blue, and its neck is green, and its feathers have an attractive, metallic shine. When it flies, a beautiful orange tail is visible. A typical bird will be around 70 cm long. But the females are slightly smaller in size and are streaky brownish in appearance.

          As their name suggests, these birds are found in the Himalayas, especially in the open forests and meadows. They can be seen even in snowy high altitudes up to 4000 m. They are well equipped to dig into the ground through snow. They eat roots, seeds, berries, shoots and invertebrates.

          The people of Uttarakhand call the bird, ‘the monal’ and consider this bird to be their official state bird. The Himalayan monals are also seen in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. 

               The most important thing about cheer pheasants is that they are a vulnerable species. Sometimes also known as the Wallach’s pheasant, the number of these birds in the world is declining fast. Due to habitat loss, small population size and human hunting, they are facing the serious threat of extinction and are evaluated as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

               The cheer pheasants are large birds with a very long tail. They are generally grey in colour, barred with brown or black. They are less ‘glamorous’ compared to the other members in the pheasant family which have bright and brilliant colours. Males and females look different. The male birds are larger in size, with a grey neck and longer tail. The females are more brownish and make a very sharp, loud call.

               Cheer pheasants are often seen in rocky areas. The Himalayan regions in the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh host these birds. They choose to make their nest in scrubby and grassy patches in these areas. Though they make their nest on the ground, at night, they roost on tree branches. They forage in groups or as pairs and are shy birds that flee quickly if there is any disturbance. 

          Kalij pheasants are distributed around the foothills of the Himalayas, in countries including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. In our country, these are concentrated in the North-eastern states.

          The Kalij is a close relative of the silver pheasant. They are neither too big nor too small in size.

          The males among them would typically weigh about one kilogramme and are around 60 to 75 cm long. They are mostly black in colour and have arched tail feathers. 

          The females, on the other hand are slightly brownish. But both the males and females have grey legs and red faces. They eat roots, seeds, insects, etc.

          Although they are generally shy, they emerge out from their habitat of evergreen and deciduous forests in the mornings and evenings.

          This pheasant consumes and then disperses, seeds of plants which grow and spread quickly in vast areas disturbing the balance of the ecosystem. Kalij pheasants are therefore, considered an invasive species in Hawaii.

          Grey jungle fowls are very common in states like Rajasthan, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

          This fowl is grey in colour. The feathers on its wings are black and its belly looks silver. Although they have a shape similar to red jungle fowls, they are slightly longer. These birds are very shy and timid by nature.

          Grey jungle fowls eat almost anything they can find, like berries, insects and termites. They have a special liking for bamboo seeds and you can see a lot of them gathering in areas where these seeds are available. These birds prefer to live in forests and abandoned plantations. During the mornings and evenings, they can be seen on roads. But at night, they roost on trees. They make a nest with dry leaves.

          These birds are declining in number because of habitat loss and hunting for food. 

                Red jungle fowls are the ancestors of our domestic poultry. It is estimated that Man started domesticating them at least five thousand years ago, in Asia.

              Red jungle fowls lead a social life and they choose to live in well-watered forests in groups. They are omnivores and have a varied diet that includes insects, fruits and seeds. They are very shy and will flee if there is a signal of anything alarming.

               We can see red jungle fowls in the Himalayan terrain. States like Odisha and Madhya Pradesh also have a share of these birds.