Hildebrandt's Spurfowl Pternistis hildebrandti Scientific name definitions

c. 34–41 cm; two males 600 g and 645 g, two females 430 g and 480 g. Throat, neck and underparts whitish profusely spotted black, most distinct on lower breast and flanks, with dark grey-brown crown, nape and supercilia, rufous-grey ear-coverts, blacker on mantle (vermiculated rufous and buff) with whitish-buff fringes; bill red with black culmen, eyes brown and legs also red. Male differs from very similar P. natalensis by less regularly patterned, more blotched underparts. Female has very distinctive rufous-buff underparts; in S of range, smaller and lacks white streaking on mantle. Juvenile more distinctly barred (buff and black) above than female, legs duller (more brownish red) and some (presumably young males) show some dark spotting on underparts. Female of race altumi has breast speckled black, while race johnstoni is smaller than nominate and lacks white on mantle.

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Has at times been placed in genus Chaetopus or in Notocolinus; latter name may alternatively represent a valid subgenus for this species, P. adspersus, P. capensis and P. natalensis (1 Clancey, P.A. (1996). Further on subspeciation in the Red-billed Francolin Pternistis adspersus (Waterhouse), 1838. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 116(2): 104–108. Close ). Hybridizes occasionally with P. natalensis. Geographical variation mainly clinal, and not well marked (most distinctive in females), but differences between various forms poorly understood (2 Madge, S.C. and McGowan, P. (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London. Close ); race altumi was named and described solely on the basis of two male birds (3 Turner, D.A. (2016). Geographic variation in Hildebrandt’s Francolin Pternistis hildebrandti with particular reference to the form altumi Fischer & Reichenow. Scopus. 36(2): 44–45. Close ); review required. Here, the species is divided into three races, treating helleri (N Kenya) and fischeri (Wembere Steppe, in NC Tanzania) as synonyms of nominate, and lindi and grotei (respectively from Lindi and Mikandani, both in SE Tanzania) as synonyms of johnstoni. Three subspecies recognized.

Introduced on Bwejuu I, near Mafia, Tanzania.

C & W Kenya S through Tanzania to SE Zaire (Musosa), NE Zambia and Malawi.

Open habitats with scattered cover, mainly between 2000 m and 2500 m, but locally down to 650 m in Zambia (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ) and even 100 m in Malawi (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); on rocky hillsides with dense scrub, bracken, thickets and bushy grassland; low heath at higher altitudes above treeline, and also at edges of evergreen forest. Favours larger thickets than Dendroperdix sephaena but may be in competition with P. squamatus, which is common in secondary forest and shrubland (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Usually roosts in trees.

Territorial call a series of fairly high-pitched grating cackles, typically starting as single notes before switching to doubled notes “kek..kek..kek..kerek..kerek..kerek..kek..kek” or similar. Also single or repeated “kek” calls and a low, grating “chuck-a-chuk” in contact. Mainly vocal at dawn and dusk, several birds often calling in response to the first.

Lays in most months according to locality: Jun–Sept in Zambia (4 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); Apr–Nov (peak Jun–Jul) in Malawi; Jan, Mar, May–Aug and Nov–Dec in E Africa, apparently unrelated to rainfall. Probably monogamous. Nest a well-concealed scrape, lined with grass and leaves. Usually six creamy to pale brown eggs (3–8); downy chicks have broad rufous-brown central stripe above, and buffy underparts.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Mace Lande: safe. Occurs in suitable habitat throughout c. 900,000 km². In general, very locally distributed and uncommon; probably declining in S Malawi (5 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ). Known from several conservation units including Arusha National Park (Tanzania). No further information available. Not considered to be in need of conservation attention, but detailed information on status and local abundance required.