| Red-necked Spurfowl | |
|---|---|
 Pternistis afer loangwae | |
| Information | |
| Common Name | Red-necked Francolin |
| Range | central belt of Africa and down the east coast to South Africa. |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Galliformes |
| Family | Phasianidae Perdicinae |
| Genus | Pternistis |
| Species | Pternistis afer |
| Conservation Status | |
 Least Concern | |
The Red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin (Pternistis afer), is a species of francolin in the Phasianidae family.
Description[]
It is 25–38 cm in length, with a significant size difference between the subspecies, of which there are some seven or eight. It is a generally dark francolin, brown above and black-streaked grey or white underparts. The bill, bare facial skin, neck and legs are bright red.
Distribution and Status[]
The red-necked spurfowl breeds across the central belt of Africa and down the east coast to South Africa. Widespread and common throughout its large range, the red-necked spurfowl is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Habits[]
The red-necked spurfowl is a wary species, keeping to deep cover, although it sometimes feeds in open scrub or cultivation if disturbance is limited and there are thickets nearby. The nest is a bare scrape, and three to nine eggs are laid.
Races[]
Many races have been described. Most of them are subsumed under 7 to 8 taxa, but these differ depending on the author:
| Name | |
|---|---|
 |
Pternistis afer afer
(Müller, 1776) |
| western Angola & northwestern Namibia | |
  |
Pternistis afer castaneiventer
(Gunning & Roberts, 1911) |
| eastern South Africa | |
  |
Pternistis afer harterti
(Reichenow, 1909) |
| Rwanda, Burundi to northern Tanzania | |
  |
Pternistis afer lehmanni
(Latham, 1801) |
| Limpopo and Mpumalanga, South Africa | |
| |
Pternistis afer leucoparaeus
(Latham, 1801) |
| southeastern Kenya | |
  |
Pternistis afer loangwae
(C.H.B.Grant & Mackworth-Praed, 1934) |
| eastern Zambia & Malawi | |
  |
Pternistis afer notatus
(Roberts, 1924) |
| Western Cape, South Africa | |
  |
Pternistis afer swynnertoni
(W.L.Sclater, 1921) |
| eastern Zimbabwe & central Mozambique |
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
