Distribution and Habitat Selection of Grey Francolin (Francolinus Pondicerianus) in Swegali Game Reserve District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Animals use some habitats and quit others. It is essential to examine resource which is of great interest to the animal for its survival. Distribution and habitat selection of Grey Francolin was examined in Swegali game reserve during June 2007. Twelve line transects 200 meters wide and average 3.73 kilometers long were laid down randomly for collection of data from 06h00-20h00 and observed 58 Grey francolins singly or in pairs. Distributed of Grey francolin was observed in three of the available six habitat types including woody ravines, shrub land and agricultural fields. Chi-squared test showed that Grey francolin displayed significant habitat selection and highly significant preference for woody ravines, northerly aspects and foraged in the morning and evening, a slight drag to the afternoon was also observed. The study can contribute to planning of management interventions for the study species and its preferred habitats. It might assist policy makers to devise policies pertaining to agriculture, study species and their habitats to mitigate encroachment into marginal lands for agriculture, human settlements, use of pesticides and unregulated hunting, assessment of the effects of resource use on wild populations, planning and policy decisions for habitat management and harvest levels.