Whyte’s Francolin (Scleroptila whytei)

Hitherto treated as a race of S. shelleyi, but differs in largely buff face and neck vs white on lores, neck-sides and throat, and white postocular streak (2); irregular dark spots from (a) area between cap and supercilium to posterior neck-sides and (b) commissure under eye and ear-coverts onto neck-sides (mixing with line a) and lower throat vs broken black lines bordering cap and from commissure, former meeting mantle, latter meeting white-spotted black lower throatband, with pale tan ear-coverts and area above upper black line (2); much more densely and regularly barred belly shading to dull blackish-grey lower belly and undertail-coverts vs boldly mottled/scalloped (batwing-patterned) belly shading to buff-and-pale-brown-barred lower belly and undertail-coverts (3); cap mainly plain grey-brown vs blackish with pale tan scales (ns[2]); wing-coverts and tail plainer, greyer, less clearly barred, coverts with distinct pale rufous tinge (ns[1-2]). Monotypic.