Alternative name: Swainson's Spurfowl
- Pternistis swainsonii
Francolinus swainsonii
Identification
Male 38 cm (15 in), female 33 cm (13 in)
- Blackish upper mandible
- Black legs
Similar Species
Distribution
Western, Eastern and Southern Africa:
Westrn Africa: Angola
Eastern Africa: Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, eSwatini
Taxonomy
Formerly placed in genus Francolinus.
Subspecies
Pternistis swainsonii has two subspecies[1]:
- P. s. swainsonii: South East Angola to northern Namibia, southern Botswana and north-eastern South Africa
- P. s. lundazi: North and western Zimbabwe to southern Mozambique
Habitat
Woodlands, brushlands and farmlands. Preferring dense grassland near grain fields; never far from water.
Behaviour
Diet
They have a varied diet, consisting of bulbs, tubers and roots, seeds, berries and grass; with the addition of some spiders and insects, including locusts, ticks and beetles.
Breeding
The breeding season is related to the rainfall.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Swainson's Francolin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swainson%27s_Francolin
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
