Moorland francolin

Moorland francolin
Illustration of S. psilolaema by Joseph Smit, 1893
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Scleroptila
Species:	S. psilolaema
Binomial name
Scleroptila psilolaema (Gray, GR, 1867)
Synonyms
Francolinus psilolaemus Scleroptila psilolaemus

The moorland francolin (Scleroptila psilolaema) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.

Distribution

It is endemic to the Ethiopian montane moorlands. ^[1]

Taxonomy

The Elgon francolin of the highlands of Kenya and Uganda was formerly considered a subspecies of S. psilolaema, but was split as a distinct species by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2014, and by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022 based on a 2019 study. ^[2] Compared to the moorland francolin, the Elgon francolin is brighter (more rufescent) and lacks black spots to the throat, and also differs in vocalizations. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. BirdLife International. (2024). "Scleroptila psilolaema". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024 e.T22727339A238102521. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22727339A238102521.en . Retrieved 4 June 2025.
2. abc_admin (2019-05-13). "Elgon Francolin Scleroptila elgonensis should be treated as a species distinct from Moorland Francolin S. psilolaema". African Bird Club. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
3. McGowan, P. J. K. (1994). Moorland Francolin (Francolinus elgonensis). Pp. 494 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (1994). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN   84-87334-15-6
4. "IOC World Bird List 12.1". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.12.1.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)