Red-billed spurfowl

Last updated

Red-billed spurfowl
2011-red-billed-francolin.jpg
Adult bird and calls recorded in Namibia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Pternistis
Species:
P. adspersus
Binomial name
Pternistis adspersus
(Waterhouse, 1838)
Red-billed spurfowl distribution map.svg
   geographic distribution
Synonyms
  • Francolinus adspersus

The red-billed spurfowl (Pternistis adspersus), 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.

Contents

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism in size. Males are larger, measuring 38 cm (15 in) in length and weighing 340–635 g (12.0–22.4 oz), whereas females measure 33 cm (13 in) in length and weigh 340–549 g (12.0–19.4 oz). The species has barred underparts (in contrast to the related Natal spurfowl) and a conspicuous yellow eye-ring. [2]

Taxonomy

The red-billed spurfowl was described in 1838 by the English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse from specimens collected by James Edward Alexander on his expedition to Namaqualand and Damaraland. Waterhouse coined the binomial name Francolinus adspersus and noted that the specimens had come near the Fish River in what is now Namibia. [3] The specific epithet adspersus is Latin for "sprinkling". [4] The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. [5] [6] The red-billed spurfowl is considered as monotypic: the proposed subspecies mesicus is not 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">Hartlaub's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Hartlaub's spurfowl or Hartlaub's francolin is a species of bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is endemic to the escarpment zone of Namibia and Angola. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the German physician and ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub.

<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">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">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">Harwood's spurfowl</span> Species of bird

Harwood's spurfowl 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.

<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">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. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the Shona language in Zimbabwe, this bird is called the chikwari or horwe and is considered a delicacy by outdoor and hunting enthusiasts.

<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.

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

The black-fronted spurfowl is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is a large species of francolin. It is endemic to Ethiopia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the chestnut-naped spurfowl.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Pternistis adspersus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22678819A92790026. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678819A92790026.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. McGowan, P.J.K. & Kirwan, G.M. (2017). Red-billed Francolin (Pternistis adspersus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/53412 on 22 May 2017).
  3. Alexander, James Edward (1838). "Appendix 1: Notice of the objects of natural history collected during the expedition". An Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa : Through the Hitherto Undescribed Countries of the Great Namaquas, Boschmans, and Hill Damaras. Vol. 2. London: Henry Colburn. pp. 259-275 [267].
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . London: Christopher Helm. p.  32. 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.