Food Composition of the Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus in the Salt Range, Punjab, Pakistan

This study was conducted to investigate food habits of the Grey Francolin in the Salt Range (Chumbi Surla Wildlife Sanctuary and Diljabba Domeli Game Reserve). For this purpose¡ 28 crop and gizzard samples of the Grey Francolin were collected from local hunters/poachers. These samples were collected in different seasons; spring (n=6)¡ summer (n=4)¡ autumn (n=7) and winter (n= 11) and during the morning and evening hours. In total¡ twelve food items were recovered from 28 samples. Eight food items consisted of plant materials (leaves and seeds) were identified as Brassica rapa¡ Pennisetum typhoideum¡ Carthemus oxycantha¡ Eruca sativa¡ Triticum aestivum¡ Vigna radiata¡ Oxalis corniculata and Sorghum bicolor. Three food items belong to animal parts were from three different orders of insects; Formica rufa (Hymenoptera)¡ Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera) and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera). The total weight of their gut with food contents was 147.1 gm (10.50.26) in the morning while in the evening¡ the weight of their gut with food contents was 115.86 gm (8.27.53). The consumption of plant materials washigh in spring (2.33.89) and summer (2.59.67) compared with autumn (1.23.48) and winter (1.47.65). The consumption of insects as compared with plant materials showed seasonal variation as it was higher in summer (4.15.93) and winter (2.5.44) as compared to spring (1.56.88) and autumn (2.38.03). Comparison of the weight of different food items collected during the morning and evening times using student’s paired t-test in QI Macros-2014 showed that there was significant difference between the weight of contents of the morning and evening and the selection of plant and animal species during the time of the day.