Editing Galliformes (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Male and female pheasant.jpg|thumb|left|Female (left) and male [[common pheasant]]s: [[Sexual dimorphism]] is conspicuous in this species, one of the most [[apomorph]]ic gamefowl]]
As their name suggests they are chicken-like in appearance, with rounded bodies and blunt wings, and range in size from small at 15&nbsp;cm (6 inches) to large at 120&nbsp;cm (4&nbsp;feet). They are mainly terrestrial birds and their wings are short and rounded for short-distance flight. Galliforms are [[anisodactyly|anisodactyl]] like [[passerine]]s, but some of the adult males grow spurs that point backwards.

Gallinaceous birds are arboreal or terrestrial animals; many prefer not to fly, but instead walk and run for locomotion. They live 5–8 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} They can be found worldwide and in a variety of habitats, including forests, deserts, and grasslands. They use visual displays and vocalizations for communication, courtship, fighting, territoriality, and brooding.

They have diverse mating strategies: some are monogamous, while others are [[Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamous]] or [[polygynandrous]]. Male courtship behavior includes elaborate visual displays of plumage. They breed seasonally in accordance with the climate and lay three to 16 eggs per year in nests built on the ground or in trees.

Gallinaceous birds feed on a variety of plant and animal material, which may include fruits, seeds, leaves, shoots, flowers, tubers, roots, insects, snails, worms, lizards, snakes, small rodents, and eggs.

These birds vary in size from the diminutive [[king quail]] (''Coturnix chinensis'') (5&nbsp;in) long and weighing 28–40&nbsp;g (1–1.4&nbsp;oz) to the largest extant galliform species, the [[North America]]n [[wild turkey]] (''Meleagris gallopavo''), which may weigh as much as 14&nbsp;kg (30.5&nbsp;lb) and may exceed 120&nbsp;cm (47&nbsp;in).

The galliform bird species with the largest wingspan and largest overall length (including a train of over 6 feet) is most likely the [[green peafowl]] (''Pavo muticus''). Most galliform [[genera]] are plump-bodied with thick necks and moderately long legs, with rounded and rather short wings. [[Grouse]], [[pheasant]]s, [[francolin]]s, and [[partridge]]s are typical in their outwardly corpulent silhouettes.

Adult males of many galliform birds have one to several sharp horny spurs on the back of each leg, which they use for fighting. In several lineages, pronounced sexual dimorphism occurs, and among each galliform [[clade]], the more apomorphic ("advanced") lineages tend to be more sexually dimorphic.