Erckel's Francolin is a ground-dwelling bird of the highlands of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and northeastern Sudan. Pale markings show on its body.
Its brown body is marked with pale spots and streaks.
Erckel’s Francolins eat fruit. In Hawaiian forests, where people introduced them, they consume fruits of both native and non-native plants. Seeds within those fruits enter the bird’s digestive tract along with the meal.
A study published in 2022 fed seeds to captive Erckel’s Francolins and Kalij Pheasants. For every plant tested, fewer than five percent of seeds survived gut passage in either bird species. Most seeds were destroyed, while a small fraction remained intact.
The study also examined wild seed dispersal on Oahu and Hawaii. Across the two bird species, native and non-native seeds were dispersed at similar rates. Seeds can therefore be destroyed as food or survive to be transported, connecting a fruit meal with different outcomes for forest plants.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In Hawaiian forest conservation, the effects of introduced Erckel’s Francolins on plant seeds are relevant. The 2022 study documents destruction of native as well as non-native seeds. Plant identity and the fraction of seeds surviving digestion affect the birds’ ecological consequences.