Painted spurfowl

The painted spurfowl is a bird of the pheasant family found in rocky hill and scrub forests mainly in peninsular India. Males are more brightly coloured and spotted boldly in white. Males have two to four spurs while females can have one or two of the spurs on their tarsus. The species is found mainly in rocky and scrub forest habitats unlike the red spurfowl. It is found in the undergrowth in pairs or small groups, escaping by running and rarely taking to the wing when flushed.

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Distribution

Region

Peninsular India

Typical Environment

Occurs patchily across rocky hill tracts, boulder-strewn slopes, and dry deciduous and thorn scrub forests. It favors broken terrain with dense undergrowth, thickets along hill streams, and scrubby edges of cultivation. Birds keep close to cover and use rocky outcrops for loafing and vantage. In many areas it overlaps with dry forest mosaics and degraded scrub, provided there is sufficient ground cover and water nearby.

Altitude Range

100–1500 m

Climate Zone

Tropical

Characteristics

Size33–38 cm

Wing Span45–55 cm

Male Weight0.4 kg

Female Weight0.35 kg

Life Expectancy6 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 2/5

Useful to know

A ground-dwelling member of the pheasant family, the painted spurfowl prefers to run through rocky scrub rather than take to the wing, flushing only when pressed. Males carry two to four sharp tarsal spurs used in dominance disputes, while females usually have one or two. Pairs or small family groups keep to dense cover and are most active at dawn and dusk.

Gallery

Painted Spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata). Daroji Sloth bear sanctuary, India

Male and female

Behaviour

Temperament

shy and wary

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats

Social Behavior

Usually found in pairs or small coveys that keep tight contact while moving through cover. Nests are simple ground scrapes placed under bushes or rocks. Breeding coincides with the pre-monsoon to monsoon period in much of its range, and family groups remain together while chicks are precocial and follow adults.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

The call is a loud, rapid series of cackles and chuckles, often delivered from a rock or low perch at dawn and dusk. Contact calls are softer clucks used to keep the group together in thick cover.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Painted stork

The painted stork is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.

Painted redstart

The painted redstart or painted whitestart is a species of New World warbler found in mountainous areas across inland Central America. They are among the largest warblers, reaching the length of 6 inches (150 mm), tail included. Adult birds have glossy black plumage, with white strips on the wing and a bright red belly. Female and male birds have similar appearance. Female painted redstarts have a rare feature of being as good singers as the males.

Palani laughingthrush

The Palani laughingthrush is a species of laughingthrush endemic to the hills of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap in Southern India. Found in the high montane forests, this grey bibbed, rufous bellied bird with a prominent dark eyestripe and broad white brow was grouped along with the grey-breasted subspecies of the black-chinned laughingthrush and known as the grey-breasted laughingthrush. This species is found in the Palni Hills while another closely related form, the Ashambu laughingthrush with a shorter white brow is found in the high hills south of the Achankovil Gap and was treated as a subspecies. The two forms were together treated under the name of Kerala laughingthrush.