| Ptilopachus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stone partridge | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Odontophoridae |
| Subfamily: | Ptilopachinae Bowie, Coehn & Crowe 2013 |
| Genus: | Ptilopachus Swainson, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Ptilopachus erythrorhynchus [1] = Tetrao petrosus Swainson, 1837 | |
| Species | |
Stone partridge (P. petrosus) Contents | |
Ptilopachus is an African genus of birds in the New World quail family.
The genus Ptilopachus was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William Swainson to accommodate a single species, the stone partridge, which is therefore the type species. [2] [3] The genus name is from Ancient Greek ptilon meaning "feather" with pakhus meaning "thick" or "dense". [4]
As traditionally defined, only the stone partridge was included in this genus, but based on genetic evidence, it now also includes Nahan's partridge (formerly considered a francolin). The study also concludes that this genus is more closely related to the New World quails (Odontophoridae) and might be considered their only African representative. [5] [6] [7]
| Image | Genus | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | P. petrosusGmelin, 1789 | Stone partridge | Kenya and Ethiopia to Gambia |
 | P. nahani(Dubois, AJC, 1905) | Nahan's partridge | northeastern DR Congo and western Uganda |
At about 25 cm (9.8 in) in length, both are relatively small, terrestrial birds with a red eye-ring, base of the bill, and legs, and brownish upperparts. [8]
Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often reared by humans for their meat and eggs, or hunted as game birds.
The Phasianidae are a family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular gamebirds. The family includes 185 species divided into 54 genera. It was formerly broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae and the Perdicinae. However, this treatment is now known to be paraphyletic and polyphyletic, respectively, and more recent evidence supports breaking it up into two subfamilies: Rollulinae and Phasianinae, with the latter containing multiple tribes within two clades. The New World quail (Odontophoridae) and guineafowl (Numididae) were formerly sometimes included in this family, but are now typically placed in families of their own; conversely, grouse and turkeys, formerly often treated as distinct families, are now known to be deeply nested within Phasianidae, so they are now included in the present family.
Francolins are birds in the tribe Gallini that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera.
The red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae that is a resident species in southern Africa.
Francolinus is a genus of birds in the francolin group of the tribe Gallini in the pheasant family.
The stone partridge is a bird of the New World quail family. This largely brown bird, which commonly holds its tail raised, is found in scrubland and lightly wooded habitats, often near rocks, from Kenya and Ethiopia to Gambia.
The grey francolin is a species of francolin found in the plains and drier parts of the Indian subcontinent and Iran. This species was formerly also called the grey partridge, not to be confused with the European grey partridge. They are mainly ground-living birds and are found in open cultivated lands as well as scrub forest and their local name of teetar is based on their calls, a loud and repeated Ka-tee-tar...tee-tar which is produced by one or more birds. The term teetar can also refer to other partridges and quails. During the breeding season calling males attract challengers, and decoys were used to trap these birds especially for fighting.
The swamp francolin, also called swamp partridge, is a francolin species native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India and Nepal. It is considered extinct in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
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.
Harwood's spurfowl, 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.
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.
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.
Nahan's partridge, 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).
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.
The grey-breasted spurfowl or grey-breasted francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Tanzania.
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.
Perdicinae is a polyphyletic former subfamily of birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae, regrouping the partridges, Old World quails, and francolins. Although this subfamily was considered monophyletic and separated from the pheasants, tragopans, junglefowls, and peafowls (Phasianinae) till the early 1990s, molecular phylogenies have shown that these two subfamilies actually constitute only one lineage. For example, some partridges are more closely affiliated to pheasants, whereas Old World quails and partridges from the Alectoris genus are closer to junglefowls. Due to this, the subfamily Perdicinae is no longer recognized by the International Ornithological Congress, with the species being split among 3 subfamilies.
Scleroptila is a genus of birds in the francolin group of the tribe Gallini of the pheasant family. Its eight species range through Sub-Saharan Africa.
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.
Ortygornis is a genus of birds in the francolin group of the family Phasianidae.
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