entry smap 249: Grey Francolin

this week i am presenting a bird we don't have locally. i took this shot while on a visit to Tonk District in the state of Rajasthan

though the Grey Francolin Ortygornis pondicerianus is a fairly common terrestrial bird in it's favored habitat, it is difficult to get a good clear shot of them. they mostly hide in thick underbrush and when in open terrain they are inevitably running for cover. that may be due to the fact that they are hunted by both natural predators and humans.

at any rate, i was very pleased to see some running around. the room we were staying in overlooked a large dry open plot covered with thorny bushes. in the early morning and around dusk we could hear them and sometimes spot them running around between the bushes. i tried several times to go look for them but the thorny bushes were a major hindrance so this is the only shot i have. while the bird was running and the lighting not the best resulted in an unclear photo, the shot is good enough for identification, with the barring patterns covering most of the body and the orange head