Chinese Francolin

The Chinese francolin is a sturdy ground bird about 30–34 cm long. The male has a black-and-white patterned head, white cheek patch, chestnut neck and densely spotted and barred body; the female is browner and more cryptically marked. Males advertise from raised ground or low perches with a loud, rhythmic call that carries across open country, often revealing birds that remain hidden in grass or scrub (BirdForum; Wikipedia, general species account).

Unlike the denser-forest pheasants, it favours open woodland, forest edge, grassland, scrub and cultivated clearings from southern China through mainland Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Birds usually occur singly or in pairs, walking through cover and feeding on seeds, fruit and insects. They roost off the ground but nest in a grass-lined scrape concealed at ground level. General accounts report clutches of three to six eggs; populations are resident rather than long-distance migrants (BirdForum; Handbook of the Birds of the World, general species account).