| Whyte's francolin | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Scleroptila |
| Species: | S. whytei |
| Binomial name | |
| Scleroptila whytei (Neumann, 1908) | |
Whyte's francolin (Scleroptila whytei) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in grassy woodlands and grasslands in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, and Zambia.
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 is a large one and 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.
Francolinus is a genus of birds in the francolin group of the tribe Gallini in the pheasant family.
The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of Blantyre, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Phalombe and the Mulanje district.
Widdringtonia is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae. The name was Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher's way of honouring an early expert on the coniferous forests of Spain, Capt. Samuel Edward Widdrington (1787–1856). There are four species, all native to southern Africa, where they are known as cedars or African cypresses.
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.
Widdringtonia whytei, the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of conifer native to Malawi, where it is endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830–2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesting for its wood, and an increase in the frequency of wildfires due to human activity.
The grey-winged francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa.
Finsch's francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, parts of Cameroon, and Gabon.
The red-winged francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
The Orange River francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae found in grassland and woodland in Africa. In the taxa from the northern part of its distribution, the neck-line does not reach the eye and the belly is whitish. In the southern taxa the neck-line reaches the eye and the belly is buff. This has led some authorities to treat them as separate species: The Archer's or acacia francolin in the north, and the Orange River francolin in the south.
The moorland francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia.
Shelley's francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. The species is named after Sir Edward Shelley, cousin of George Ernest Shelley. IOC 13.1 recognized the following subspecies:
The ring-necked francolin is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Rarer than previously believed, it was uplisted from a species of Least Concern to Near Threatened status in the 2007 IUCN Red List.
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.
The Elgon francolin is a francolin found in moorland at altitudes above 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) from eastern Uganda to central Kenya.
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.
Staphylinochrous whytei is a species of moth of the Anomoeotidae family. It is found in Nigeria.
Whyte's double-collared sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It was considered a subspecies of Ludwig's double-collared sunbird. It is found in Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
 | This Galliformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
