Black Francolin

There are more than 250 species of birds in the order Galliformes worldwide, six of which are found in Turkmenistan. One of the representatives of the pheasant family (Phasianidae) within this order is the black francolin.

This bird stands out for its exceptional beauty and is slightly larger than a chukar. The adult male boasts black plumage with rounded white spots on its belly, a black beak, and bright red legs. The female’s coloration is more modest: yellowish tones with transverse black stripes predominate on the upper body, while her chin and upper throat are pure white. On the ground, black francolins move by running quickly with their necks stretched forward. Their wingspan/wing length ranges from 148 to 180 mm, and their body weight is between 400 and 550 grams.

The habitat of the black francolin covers Cyprus, Central Asia, Eastern Transcaucasia, and Northern India. In Central Asia, this species lives exclusively in southwestern Turkmenistan—primarily in the valleys of the Atrek and Sumbar rivers.

Black francolins are sedentary (non-migratory) birds. They settle near bodies of water: in thickets of tamarisk, blackberry, and camelthorn, in coastal areas with dense grass and reeds, as well as along the edges of agricultural land. These birds are monogamous: their pairs are stable, and males remain with a single female not only during the breeding season but throughout the rest of the year as well. Between March and August, some pairs manage to raise two broods.

In autumn and winter, black francolins gather in flocks. Their diet is diverse, including leaves, young shoots, juicy fruits, seeds (including grain crops), as well as grasshoppers, true bugs, cicadas, ants, earthworms, and mollusks.

The black francolin is a very rare species. It is considered one of the most striking and remarkable representatives of the avifauna in the Hazar and Sunt-Hasardag State Nature Reserves.