The call of the Grey Partrige or Grey Francolin as it's now called was one of the first calls I heard when I came to this campus. The birds are one of the commonest in Peninsular India. They have a loud, ringing 'tee--teeu-ka-' repeated about four times. Another call 'is Pee-la-la, Pee-la-la'. The Hindi name is teetar and the birds are also considered a delicacy.
In the wild, they're seen in groups of three or four secretively stepping through the undergrowth. I have not been successful in getting very close to them. Often, when you flush a group of birds they will suddenly fly up from the ground, flapping loudly and scatter deep inside the bushes.
So far, this photograph has been the only chance at capturing a pair. This was taken near the main gate this morning.
Call of the Grey Partridge: at IndiaBirds (Quicktime needed)
1 comment:
Ah well!! I should be visiting this blog more often now. The teetars are here :) IndiaBirds is a nice site (with all the bird calls).
Still need to find that 'teetar' song though :)
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