Food and Feeding Ecology of Double-spurred Francolin (Pternitis bicalcaratus Linn.) in Ekiti State, Nigeria
O. C. Owolabi
Department of Zoology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
A. I. Akinpelu
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Double-spurred francolin (Pternitis bicalcaratus) is a bird with wide range of economic importance. In spite of this, there has been no previous studies on food and feeding ecology of the species in Ekiti State, Nigeria. 150 (male 69, female 81) bird specimens were collected through hunters, the crop and gizzard contents were sorted. Thirty food species having plants and animal origins were recovered. Plant and animal matters constituted 93.22% and 6.2% respectively. Mann Whitney U- test showed that there was no significant difference in the consumption of plant matters among sexes (p> 0.05) but a significant difference in the consumption of animal matters among sexes (p< 0.05).
Keywords: Double-spurred francolin, food and feeding preference, plant and animal matter, crop and gizzard contents.