Francolins and Spurfowls - Bird of the Month: May 2013

[Flutterby]

Let's see how many of these we can find:

Grey-winged Francolin
Shelley's Francolin
Red-winged Francolin
Orange River Francolin
Coqui Francolin
Crested Francolin

Hartlaub's Spurfowl
Red-billed Spurfowl
Cape Spurfowl
Natal Spurfowl
Red-necked Spurfowl
Swainson's Spurfowl

Francolins and Spurfowls

Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae

Galliformes are heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game birds. Most are plump-bodied with thick necks and moderately long legs, and have rounded and rather short wings. They do not fly well if at all, but walk and run instead for transportation. These birds vary greatly in size from 12-120 cm. Many adult males have one to several sharp horny spurs on the back of each leg, which they use for fighting. They can be found worldwide and in a variety of habitats, including forests, deserts, and meadows. Male courtship behavior includes elaborate visual displays of plumage. Gallinaceous birds feed on a variety of plant and animal material, which may include fruits, seeds, leaves, shoots, flowers, tubers, roots, insects, snails, worms, lizards, snakes, small rodents, and eggs.

Francolins and Spurfowls are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera, although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. When all are maintained in a single genus, it is the most diverse of the Galliformes, having by far the most members. Francolins are terrestrial (though not flightless) birds that feed on insects, vegetable matter and seeds. Most of the members have a hooked upper beak, tails with fourteen feathers and in many of them the male has spurs on the tarsi.

Of the approximately 40 extant species, 5 are restricted to Asia, while the remaining are restricted to Africa. Several species have been introduced to other parts of the world, notably Hawaii. Twelve of the species which occur in Africa are found in the subcontinental region of southern Africa; of these, seven occur in varying proportions within the political boundaries of Namibia. Six southern African francolins are considered endemic to the subcontinent, of which three are found in Namibia (Hartlaub's Spurfowl, Red-billed Spurfowl, and Orange River Francolin). The Cape Spurfowl, endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa occurs marginally in southern Namibia.

Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pternistis

[Amoli]

I have seen quite a few nice pics on the forum..

Interesting thread - Will get posting here..

[Flutterby]

Francolins and Spurfowls are terrestrial (though not flightless) birds that feed on insects, vegetable matter and seeds. Most of the members have a hooked upper beak, tails with fourteen feathers and in many of them the male has spurs on the tarsi.

The Crested Francolin (Dendroperdix sephaena) is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[Flutterby]

This Crested Francolin also showed no fear!!

[Flutterby]

The Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis) is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family. It is found in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[Amoli]

Natal Francolin - taken in front of our tent at Satara

[Lisbeth]

Natal francolin

[Dewi]

Great photos of the bush chickens everyone.

Natal Francolin

[Flutterby]

Shelley's Francolin (Scleroptila shelleyi) is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family. The species is named after Sir Edward Shelley, cousin of George Ernest Shelley, an English geologist and ornithologist.

[Amoli]

We saw these Cape Francolin's on the S131.
Our group agreed that it seemed they were being fed as they had no fear for humans - they even got up onto Penga's bakkie roof