Nahan's partridge

Nahan's partridge [1]
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Odontophoridae
Genus:	Ptilopachus
Species:	P. nahani
Binomial name
Ptilopachus nahani (Dubois, 1905)
Synonyms
Francolinus nahani Pternistis nahani

Nahan's partridge ^[1] (Ptilopachus nahani), also known as the Nahan's francolin, is a bird traditionally placed in the family Phasianidae. As suggested by its alternative name, it was formerly believed to be a francolin and placed either in Francolinus or Pternistis , but it is now known that its closest relative is the stone partridge and together may in fact be the only African representatives of the New World quails (Odontophoridae). ^{[3] [4]}

Description

Juvenile

At about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) in length, the Nahan's partridge is a relatively small, terrestrial bird with a red eye-ring, legs and base of the bill, brownish upperparts, and black-and-white underparts and head. ^[5]

Distribution and habitat

This endangered species is found in the rainforests in northeastern DR Congo and western Uganda, ^[5] and it is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. ^[2] As of December 2024, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is surveying the species' habitat to update its population count. ^[6]

References

1. Gill, F, & Donsker, D. eds. (2010). IOC World Bird Names. Version 2.7. Accessed 15 January 2011.
2. BirdLife International (2017). "Ptilopachus nahani". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017 e.T22678795A118416398. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22678795A118416398.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
3. Crowe, T. M., Bowie, R.C.K., Bloomer, P., Mandiwana, T.G., Hedderson, T.A.J., Randi, E., Pereira, S., & Wakeling, J. (2006). Phylogenetics, biogeography and classification of, and character evolution in, gamebirds (Aves: Galliformes): Effects of character exclusion, data partitioning and missing data. Cladistics 22: 495-532.
4. Crowe, T. (2010). Phylogenetic affinities of enigmatic African galliforms: the Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus and Latham's and Nahan's 'Francolins' Francolinus lathami and F. nahani. Cladistics 26: 206-206. (Abstract).
5. McGowan, P. J. K. (1994). Nahan's francolin (Francolinus nahani). Pp. 497 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
6. "Nahan's Partridge". Royal Zoological Society of Scotland . Retrieved 2025-10-25.