Editing Galliformes (section)

== Behaviour and ecology ==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2010}}
Most of the galliform birds are more or less resident, but some of the smaller [[temperate]] species (such as quail) do [[bird migration|migrate]] over considerable distances. [[Altitudinal migration]] is evidently quite common amongst [[montane]] species, and a few species of subtropical and [[subarctic]] regions must reach their watering and/or foraging areas through sustained flight. Species known to make extensive flights include the ptarmigans, [[sage-grouse]] (''Centrocercus''), crested partridge, green peafowl, crested argus, [[mountain peacock-pheasant]] (''Polyplectron inopinatum''), [[koklass pheasant]] (''Pucrasia macrolopha''), [[Reeves's pheasant]], and (''Syrmaticus reevesii''). Other species — most of the [[New World quail]] (also known as the ‘toothed quail’), the enigmatic [[stone partridge]] (''Ptilopachus petrosus'') of [[Africa]], [[guineafowl]], and eared pheasants (''[[Crossoptilon]]'') — are all notable for their daily excursions on foot which may take them many miles in a given day.

Some Galliformes are adapted to grassland habitat, and these genera are remarkable for their long, thin necks, long legs, and large, wide wings. Fairly unrelated [[species]] like the [[crested fireback]] (''Lophura ignita''), [[vulturine guineafowl]] (''Acryllium vulturinum''), and [[malleefowl]] (''Leipoa ocellata'') are outwardly similar in their body types (see also [[convergent evolution]]).

Most species that show only limited sexual dimorphism are notable for the great amount of locomotion required to find food throughout the majority of the year. Those species that are highly sedentary but with marked ecological transformations over seasons exhibit marked distinct differences between the sexes in size and/or appearance. Eared-pheasants, guineafowl, toothed quail, and the [[snow partridge]] (''Lerwa lerwa'') are examples of limited sexual differences and requirements for traveling over wide terrain to forage.

=== Winter ecology ===
Gallinaceous birds are well adapted to regions with cold winters. Their larger size, increased plumage, and lower activity levels help them to withstand the cold and conserve energy. Under such conditions, they are able to change their feeding strategy to that of a ruminant. This allows them to feed on and extract energy and nutrients from coarse, fibrous plant material, such as [[bud]]s, twigs, and [[conifer]] needles. This provides a virtually unlimited source of accessible food and requires little energy to harvest.

=== Food and feeding ===
[[File:Guineafowl1.jpg|thumb|left|Flock of adult and young [[helmeted guineafowl]] foraging]]
[[Herbivorous]] to slightly [[omnivorous]] galliforms, forming the majority of the group, are typically stoutly built and have short, thick bills primarily adapted for foraging on the ground for rootlets or the consumption of other plant material such as [[Calluna|heather]] shoots. The young birds will also take insects.

[[Peafowl]], [[junglefowl]] and most of the [[subtropical]] pheasant genera have very different nutritional requirements from typical [[Palearctic]] genera. The [[Himalayan monal]] (''Lophophorus impejanus'') has been observed digging in the rotting wood of [[Nurse log|deadfall]] in a similar manner to [[woodpecker]]s to extract [[invertebrate]]s, even bracing itself with aid of its squared tail. The [[cheer pheasant]] (''Catreus wallichi''), [[crested argus]] (''Rheinardia ocellata''), the [[crested partridge]] (''Rollulus roulroul'') and the [[crested guineafowl]] (''Guttera pucherani'') are similar ecologically to the Himalayan monal in that they too forage in rotting wood for [[termite]]s, [[ant]] and [[beetle]] [[larva]]e, [[mollusc]]s, [[crustacean]]s and young [[rodents]].

Typical peafowl (''Pavo''), most of the [[peacock-pheasant]]s (''Polyplectron''), the [[Bulwer's pheasant]] (''Lophura bulweri''), the ruffed pheasants (''[[Chrysolophus]]'') and the hill partridges (''[[Arborophila]]'') have narrow, relatively delicate bills, poorly suited for digging. These galliform genera prefer instead to capture live invertebrates in [[leaf litter]], in sand, or shallow pools or along stream banks. These genera are also outwardly similar in that they each have exceptionally long, delicate legs and toes and the tendency to frequent seasonally wet habitats to forage, especially during chick-rearing. The [[blue peafowl]] (''Pavo cristatus'') is famed in its native [[India]] for its appetite for snakes – even poisonous [[cobra]]s – which it dispatches with its strong feet and sharp bill. The [[Lady Amherst's pheasant]] (''Chrysolophus amherstiae''), green peafowl (''Pavo muticus''), Bulwer's pheasant and the [[crestless fireback]] (''Lophura erythrophthalma'') are notable for their aptitude to forage for crustaceans such as crayfish and other aquatic small animals in shallow streams and amongst rushes in much the same manner as some members of the rail family ([[Rallidae]]). Similarly, although [[wild turkeys]] (''Meleagris gallopavo'') have a diet primarily of vegetation, they will eat insects, mice, lizards, and amphibians, wading in water to hunt for the latter. [[Chicken|Domestic hens]] (''Gallus domesticus'') share this opportunistic behaviour and will eat insects, mice, worms, and amphibians.
[[File:Capercaillie Lomvi 2004.jpg|thumb|right|During mating season, the male [[western capercaillie]] feeds mainly on [[bilberry]] leaves, which are toxic to most [[herbivore]]s]]

The tragopans (''[[Tragopan]]''), [[mikado pheasant]] (''Syrmaticus mikado''), and several species of grouse and ptarmigan are exceptional in their largely vegetarian and [[arboreal]] foraging habitats; grouse are especially notable for being able to feed on plants rich in [[terpene]]s and [[quinones]]—such as [[sagebrush]] or [[conifer]]s—which are often avoided by other herbivores. Many species of moderate altitudes—for example the long-tailed pheasants of the genus ''[[Syrmaticus]]''—also find a great deal of their daily nutritional requirements in the [[canopy (forest)|tree canopies]], especially during the snowy and rainy periods when foraging on the ground is dangerous and less than fruitful for a variety of reasons. Although members of the genus ''Syrmaticus'' are capable of subsisting almost entirely on vegetarian materials for months at a time, this is not true for many of the subtropical genera. For example, the [[great argus]] (''Argusianus argus'') and crested argus may do most of their foraging during rainy months in the canopy of the jungle, as well. There they are known to forage on [[slug]]s, [[snail]]s, ants, and [[amphibian]]s to the exclusion of plant material. How they forage in the forest canopy during the rainy months is unknown.

=== Reproduction ===
Most galliforms are very prolific, with [[clutch (eggs)|clutches]] regularly exceeding 10 eggs in many species. In contrast to most birds which are – at least for a particular breeding season – [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]], galliforms are often [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]] or [[Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamous]]. Such species can be recognized by their pronounced sexual dimorphism.

Galliform young are very [[wiktionary:precocious|precocious]] and roam with their mothers – or both parents in monogamous species – mere hours after hatching. The most extreme case are the [[Megapodiidae]], where the adults do not brood, but leave [[Avian incubation|incubation]] to mounds of rotting vegetation, [[volcanism|volcanic]] ash, or hot sand. The young must dig out of the nest mounds after hatching, but they emerge from the eggs fully feathered, and upon leaving the mound, they are able to fly considerable distances.