Clapperton's Spurfowl
Pternistis clappertoni
A medium-sized, pale francolin with large patches of red bare skin around the eyes. Heavily marked with black and pale buff on the back, neck, and underparts. Found locally in a variety of savanna habitats and adjacent agricultural areas, often in pairs or small groups. Separated from most other francolins by the red facial skin. Similar to Harwood’s Francolin, but much paler overall, with a mostly black rather than red bill. The call is a rough “kreeya” that is repeated several times.
Taxonomy
Clapperton's spurfowl was described in 1826 by John George Children and Nicholas Aylward Vigors in an appendix to the Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa by the explorers Dixon Denham and Hugh Clapperton. Children and Vigors chose to honour Clapperton and coined the binomial name Francolinus clappertoni. In their publication Children and Vigors did not specify where the specimen had been collected but the type locality was later designated as Borno in northeast Nigeria. The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that Clapperton's spurfowl is sister to Harwood's spurfowl.<p>Two subspecies are now recognised:
- Scientific name
- Pternistis clappertoni
- Authority
- (Children & Vigors, 1826)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Pternistis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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