Red-necked spurfowl

The red-necked spurfowl was described in 1776 by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller and given the binomial name Tetrao afer.{{ cite book | last=Statius Müller | first=Philipp Ludwig | author-link=Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller | year=1776 | title=Des Ritters Carl von Linné Königlich Schwedischen Lelbarztes uc. uc. vollständigen Natursystems Supplements und Register-Band über alle sechs Theile oder Classen des Thierreichs mit einer ausführlichen Erklärung ausgefertiget | place=Nürnberg | publisher=Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe | language=German | page=129 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51217780 }} The type locality was later designated as Benguela in western Angola.{{ cite journal | last=Sclater | first=William Lutley | author-link=William Lutley Sclater | year=1920 | title=Note on the red-necked francolin | journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume=41 | pages=133–135 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32428357 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1934 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=2 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=85 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482898 }} The specific epithet afer is the Latin word for "African".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl | url-access=limited | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl/page/n35 35] }} The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832.{{ cite journal | last=Wagler | first=Johann Georg | author-link=Johann Georg Wagler | year=1832 | title=Neue Sippen und Gattungen der Säugthiere und Vögel | journal=Isis von Oken | volume=1832 | at=cols 1218–1235 [1229] | language=German, Latin | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26455534 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Pheasants, partridges, francolins | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/pheasants/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=11 February 2020 }} A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the red-necked spurfowl is sister to the grey-breasted spurfowl.{{ cite journal | last1=Mandiwana-Neudani | first1=T.G. | last2=Little | first2=R.M. | last3=Crowe | first3=T.M. | last4=Bowie | first4=R.C.K. | year=2019 | title=Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini: Pternistis spp. | journal=Ostrich | volume=90 | issue=2 | pages=145–172 | doi=10.2989/00306525.2019.1584925 | bibcode=2019Ostri..90..145M | s2cid=195417777 | url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/05/23/329243.full.pdf }}

Although many subspecies have been described only four are now recognised:

• P. a. cranchii (Leach, 1818) — north Gabon and south Congo Republic though south, east Democratic Republic of the Congo to central Angola and west Zambia to central Tanzania, west Kenya and Uganda{{efn|Mandiwana-Neudani et al (2019) treat P. a. cranchii as a separate species, Cranch's spurfowl.}}
• P. a. afer (Müller, PLS, 1776) — west Angola, northwest Namibia
• P. a. castaneiventer Gunning & Roberts, 1911 — south and east South Africa
• P. a. humboldtii (Peters, W, 1854) — southeast Kenya and north and east Tanzania to Mozambique, northeast Zambia and east Zimbabwe

Red-necked Francolin (Francolinus afer) (20529615134), crop.jpg|P. a. cranchii
(Leach, 1818)
in western Kenya

Pternistis afer subsp afer, Kunene River Lodge, Birding Weto, a.jpg|P. a. afer
(Statius Müller, 1776)
in northern Namibia

Red-necked Spurfowl 2015 01 17 1406, crop.jpg|P. a. castaneiventer
Gunning & Roberts, 1911
in South Africa

Red-necked Spurfowl - Pternistis afer, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique (44137857440), crop.jpg|P. a. humboldtii
(Peters, W, 1854)
in Mozambique

The red-necked spurfowl is {{cvt|25|–|38|cm}} in length, with significant size differences between the subspecies.{{cite journal|last1=McGowan|first1=P.J.K.|last2=Kirwan|first2=G.M.|year=2020|title=Red-necked Francolin (Pternistis afer)|editor1-last=del Hoyo|editor1-first=J.|editor2-last=Elliott|editor2-first=A.|editor3-last=Sargatal|editor3-first=J.|editor4-last=Christie|editor4-first=D.A.|editor5-last=de Juana|editor5-first=E.|journal=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive|publisher=Lynx Edicions|doi=10.2173/bow.renfra1.01 |s2cid=241255267 |url=https://www.hbw.com/node/53418|accessdate=16 February 2020|url-access=subscription}} It is a generally dark spurfowl, brown above and black-streaked grey or white underparts. The bill, bare facial skin, neck and legs are bright red.

The red-necked spurfowl occurs across the central region of Africa below the Congo Basin. It is found in Angola, southern Gabon and the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the east it occurs in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to southern Kenya and Tanzania. Its distribution continues down the eastern side of Southern Africa, being absent from most parts of Namibia, Botswana and the western parts of South Africa.

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.

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the red-necked spurfowl is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse by Madge and McGowan, {{ISBN|0-7136-3966-0}}

{{Commons|Pternistis afer|Pternistis afer}}

• [https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Pternistis-afer Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the red-necked spurfowl]
• (Red-necked spurfowl = ) Red-necked francolin - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/198.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
• [http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-necked-francolin-pternistis-afer BirdLife Species Factsheet]
• [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=47034 IUCN Red List]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q27074582}}

red-necked spurfowl

Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

red-necked spurfowl

red-necked spurfowl