Red-billed Spurfowl
Pternistis adspersus
A medium-sized, brown francolin that is finely barred on the belly, head, and back. It has a diagnostic broad yellow eyering and reddish bill and feet. The juvenile has a reduced eyering and diffuse barring. The harsh, crowing, territorial call given from a low perch (“chak, chak, chak, CHAK, chakitty, chakitty”) is gruffer and lower-pitched than those of other francolins in its range. Natal Francolin differs by having scaled (not barred) underparts and lacking an eyering. Swainson’s Francolin differs by lacking barring and having red facial skin and dark blackish legs.
Taxonomy
The red-billed spurfowl was described in 1838 by the English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse from specimens collected by James Edward Alexander on his expedition to Namaqualand and Damaraland. Waterhouse coined the binomial name Francolinus adspersus and noted that the specimens had come near the Fish River in what is now Namibia. The specific epithet adspersus is Latin for "sprinkling". The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The red-billed spurfowl is considered as monotypic: the proposed subspecies mesicus is not recognised.
- Scientific name
- Pternistis adspersus
- Authority
- (Waterhouse, 1838)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Pternistis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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