Painted Francolin (Francolinus pictus) [XC198614]
by Ajinkya Supekar from Yellur, Belgaum, Karnataka, India (call)
Painted Francolin (Francolinus pictus) [XC329558]
by Subhajit Chaudhuri from Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Telangana, India (call)
Subspecies
Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus), Painted Francolin (Francolinus pictus) and Chinese Francolin (Francolinus pintadeanus) form a closely related species group. Hybridization with M000000153/bird> occurs in areas of contact. Recently proposed reorganization of Francolinus retains only Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus), Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus), Swamp Francolin (Francolinus gularis), M000000154/bird> and Chinese Francolin (Francolinus pintadeanus) in Francolinus.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
pallidus (Gray, JE, 1831) - North-central India south to c. 20o north.
pictus (Jardine & Selby, 1828) - Central and southern India north to c. 20o north.
watsoni Legge, 1880 - Uva Province, eastern Sri Lanka.