THE crested francolin is a common resident in north eastern South Africa and KZN.
The voice is a loud, lilting crow chat ‘kikwerri-kwetchi’ repeated several times.
The bird’s preferred habitat is bushveld, riverine forests and dense woodlands, especially around rocky koppies and cultivated lands.
Usually found in pairs or small groups, they are very noisy at dusk and dawn. They often run with their tail cooked like a bantam. When escaping, they run into dense vegetation rather than fly.
Crested francolins have an appetite for bulbs, seeds, berries and insects. Breeding takes place from October to May, and they lay four to nine creamy white or pink eggs in a sparsely lined scrape on the ground or under thorny scrub.
Incubation is 21 days and as fledglings, they first fly at six weeks and are fully independent by eight weeks.
The Zulu name is isiKhwehle and in Afrikaans they’re known as bosveld partys.
