Fossil bird eggs from the Pliocene of Laetoli, Tanzania: Their taxonomic and paleoecological relationships

An avian community including at least one small species of francolin, a larger francolin, and a guineafowl (as well as ostriches and a vulture) implies that the paleoecology at Laetoli was likely to have been open woodland, bushland, savanna or grassland. However, francolins and guineafowl generally require low brush and thickets for refuge, as well as trees to roost in at night, so they tend to prefer mosaic ecotonal habitats offering open feeding areas with good visibility, but with dense vegetation cover and patches of woodland nearby.