Gray-striped Spurfowl
Pternistis griseostriatus
Large and brownish francolin that is endemic to Angola. Mostly buffy brown, with pale stripes on the back and chestnut stripes on the underparts. The legs are red and the bill mostly red. Found in gallery forest, thickets, scrub, and adjacent cultivated areas. Generally shy and unapproachable. The common vocalization is a duet of raspy and clucking notes. Occurs alongside Red-necked Francolin, but paler overall, without large patches of red bare skin on the throat and face.
Identification
Large and brownish francolin that is endemic to Angola. Mostly buffy brown, with pale stripes on the back and chestnut stripes on the underparts. The legs are red and the bill mostly red. Found in gallery forest, thickets, scrub, and adjacent cultivated areas. Generally shy and unapproachable. The common vocalization is a duet of raspy and clucking notes. Occurs alongside Red-necked Francolin, but paler overall, without large patches of red bare skin on the throat and face.
Taxonomy
The grey-striped spurfowl was described in 1890 by the Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant from a single specimen and given the binomial name Francolinus griseostriatus. Although Ogilvie-Grant specified the habitat as the "Congo River", the type locality has been designated as the Cuanza River area of Angola. The specific epithet griseostriatus combines the Medieval Latin griseus meaning "grey" with the Latin striatus meaning "striated". The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The grey-striped spurfowl is considered as monototypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Pternistis griseostriatus
- Authority
- (Ogilvie-Grant, 1890)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Pternistis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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