Grey francolin

Ortygornis pondicerianus

The Grey francolin (Ortygornis pondicerianus) is a bird found in India, United States and United Arab Emirates. Dry plains and scrub across India and western Asia. It eats leaves and other plant parts, seeds and nuts and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Ortygornis pondicerianus
Region	Asia
Found in	India, United States and United Arab Emirates

🏡 Where the Grey francolin lives

Dry plains and scrub across India and western Asia.

🍽️ What it eats

🌿 Leaves & plants40%
🌰 Seeds & nuts30%
🍎 Fruit20%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It scurries through dry fields and calls loudly at dawn.

Hear the Grey francolin

Recorded by Dipendra Maharshi (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1166799. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Grey francolin

Where does the Grey francolin live?

The Grey francolin lives in India, United States and United Arab Emirates. Dry plains and scrub across India and western Asia.

What does the Grey francolin eat?

leaves and other plant parts (about 40%), seeds and nuts (about 30%), fruit (about 20%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Grey francolin endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Asia

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.