page_title: Grey francolin
section_title: Behaviour and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Grey francolin / Behaviour and ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: A decoy grey francolin used by a trapper, Chikballapur
context_page_description: The grey francolin is a species of francolin found in the plains and drier parts of the Indian subcontinent. This species was formerly also called the grey partridge, not to be confused with the European grey partridge. They are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers, and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting.
context_section_description: The loud calls of the birds are commonly heard early in the mornings. Pairs of birds will sometimes engage in a duet. The female call is a tee...tee...tee repeated and sometimes a kila..kila..kila and the challenge call kateela..kateela..kateela is a duet. They are usually seen in small groups.
  The main breeding season is April to September and the nest is a hidden scrape on the ground. The nest may sometimes be made above ground level in a niche in a wall or rock. The clutch is six to eight eggs, but larger clutches, potentially reflecting intraspecific brood parasitism, have been noted.
  Food includes seeds, grains as well as insects, particularly termites and beetles (especially Tenebrionidae and Carabidae). They may occasionally take larger prey such as snakes.
  They roost in groups in low thorny trees.
  Several species of feather mites, helminth and blood parasites have been described from the species.
caption: A captive decoy
exif: {}