Harwood's spurfowl

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Harwood's spurfowl
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Pternistis
Species:
P. harwoodi
Binomial name
Pternistis harwoodi
(Blundell & Lovat, 1899)
Harwood's spurfowl distribution map.svg
   geographic distribution
Synonyms
  • Francolinus harwoodi

Harwood's spurfowl (Pternistis harwoodi), also known as Harwood's Francolin, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is a grey-brown bird with red bill and tail, and red bare skin around the eyes. Both sexes have similar coloring, although the female is paler in color with a more extensive buff belly. [2]

Contents

This spurfowl is endemic to Ethiopia, having a range restricted to the Ethiopian highlands on either side of the Blue Nile River between Lake Tana and its confluence with the Jamma River, as well as its tributaries between these points. Originally thought to inhabit Typha beds growing along small, shallow watercourses and acacia thickets, studies in 1996 found Harwood's spurfowl in a site with neither of these. It is threatened by habitat loss as population pressures force locals into the marginal scrublands favored by the bird as its habitat. Harwood's spurfowl is heavily hunted for food and is sometimes also caught for sale at local markets; its eggs are also a food source.

Taxonomy

Harwood's spurfowl was described in 1899 by the English ornithologists Herbert Weld Blundell and Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat from a specimen that they had collected in the Aheafeg area of Ethiopia. They coined the binomial name Francolinus harwoodi. [3] The specific epithet was chosen to honour the taxidermist and naturalist Leonard Harwood (fl. 1899). [4] The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. [5] [6] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that Harwood's spurfowl is sister to Clapperton's spurfowl. [7] Harwood's spurfowl is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-spurred spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The double-spurred spurfowl is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Like most spurfowls, it is restricted to Africa. It is a resident breeder in tropical west Africa, but there is a small and declining isolated population in Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-necked spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae that is a resident species in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handsome spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The handsome spurfowl is a species of bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is a large, up to 35 cm long, terrestrial forest bird with a dark reddish brown plumage, grey head, red bill and legs, brown iris, bare red orbital skin and rufous grey below. Both sexes are similar. The female is slightly smaller than male. The young has duller plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The Cape spurfowl or Cape francolin is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is endemic to southern Africa, where it is the largest francolin. It occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and locally northwards to southern Namibia. It has adapted to alien vegetation and a variety of human-altered habitats, but scrubby roosting and nesting space is a prerequisite. The species is not threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-billed spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The red-billed spurfowl, also known as the red-billed francolin, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahanta spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The Ahanta francolin or Ahanta spurfowl is a species of bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is native to western Africa, where it occurs in Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Cameroon spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The Mount Cameroon spurfowl is a bird species in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is found only in Cameroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-naped spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-naped spurfowl is a species of bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. At 33–37 cm (13–15 in) in length and weighing 550–1,200 g (19–42 oz), it is a large species of spurfowl. It is found in Ethiopia and Somaliland. The population is believed to be stable but according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there is insufficient data to make an estimate of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clapperton's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Clapperton's spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erckel's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Erckel's spurfowl, also known as Erckel's francolin, is a species of game bird in the family Phasianidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-striped spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The grey-striped spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildebrandt's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Hildebrandt's spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. The species is named for Johann Maria Hildebrandt, who collected the first specimens in Kenya. The sexes differ markedly in their plumage and females are smaller than males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heuglin's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Heuglin's spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. The German explorer Theodor von Heuglin first described the species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Jackson's spurfowl or Jackson's francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Kenya and Uganda. Its preferred habitats include mountainous forests and stands of bamboo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-necked spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The yellow-necked spurfowl or yellow-necked francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. This species is named for the yellow patch found on its neck. Males of this species have been noted to have spurs on the back of their legs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natal spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The Natal spurfowl or Natal francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaly spurfowl</span> Species of bird

The scaly spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swainson's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Swainson's spurfowl or Swainson's francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae which is native to southern Africa. In the Shona language in Zimbabwe, this bird is called the chikwari or horwe and is considered a delicacy by outdoor and hunting enthusiasts. Swainson's spurfowl was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swierstra's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Swierstra's spurfowl is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Angola in the rapidly shrinking Afromontane forests of peaks such as Mount Moco and Mount Soque.

<i>Pternistis</i> Genus of birds

Pternistis is a genus of galliform birds formerly classified in the spurfowl group of the partridge subfamily of the pheasant family. They are described as "partridge-francolins" in literature establishing their phylogenetic placement outside the monophyletic assemblage of true spurfowls. All species are endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, excepted the double-spurred spurfowl. They are commonly known as spurfowls or francolins, but are closely related to jungle bush quail, Alectoris rock partridges, and Coturnix quail. The species are strictly monogamous, remaining mated indefinitely. They procure most of their food by digging. Spurfowls subsist almost entirely on roots, beans of leguminous shrubs and trees, tubers, and seeds, and feasting opportunistically on termites, ants, locusts, flowers, and fruit. Important predators are jackals, caracals, servals, and birds of prey, as well as herons and marabou storks.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Pternistis harwoodi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22678815A131514381. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22678815A131514381.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. Nigel Redman, Terry Stevenson, and John Fanshawe, Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra (Princeton: University Press, 2009), p. 126
  3. Blundell, Herbert Weld; Lovat, Simon J. (1899). "New species discovered by Mr. H. Weld Blundell and Lord Lovat during their recent expedition through Southern Abyssinia". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 10: 19–23 [22–23].
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 187. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. Wagler, Johann Georg (1832). "Neue Sippen und Gattungen der Säugthiere und Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). cols 1218–1235 [1229].
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  7. Mandiwana-Neudani, T.G.; Little, R.M.; Crowe, T.M.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2019). "Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini: Pternistis spp". Ostrich. 90 (2): 145–172. doi:10.2989/00306525.2019.1584925. S2CID   195417777.