francolin

Francolin
Yellow-necked Francolin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae Genus: Francolinus Stephens, 1819
Species
Over 40, see text

The francolins are birds of the genus Francolinus. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Francolins are terrestrial (though not flightless) birds of the Old World 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 tarsal spurs.^[1] Of the 41 extant species, 36 are exclusive to Africa.

Distribution

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, Red-billed Francolin F. adspersus and Orange River Francolin F. levaillantoides ). The Cape Francolin Francolinus capensis, endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa occurs marginally in southern Namibia. A fossil francolin, Francolinus capeki, has been described from Late Pliocene deposits of Hungary; the contemporary fossil galliforms "Francolinus" minor and "F." subfrancolinus are now placed in Palaeocryptonyx.

Modern knowledge

Even very basic biological information of many of the 36 species of francolins found in Africa is lacking. In particular, the literature of this century indicates a distinct disparity in knowledge of endemic forms, especially those restricted to isolated and extreme habitats. Although visually inconspicuous, francolins are high evocative to man; like gamebirds elsewhere, they have attracted considerable attention from the days of the first European explorers into Africa; albeit primarily from a culinary perspective.^{[citation needed]}

Species

• Black Francolin, Francolinus francolinus
• Painted Francolin, Francolinus pictus
• Chinese Francolin, Francolinus pintadeanus
• Grey Francolin, Francolinus pondicerianus
• Swamp Francolin, Francolinus gularis
• Coqui Francolin, Francolinus coqui
• White-throated Francolin, Francolinus albogularis
• Schlegel's Francolin, Francolinus schlegelii
• Latham's Francolin, Francolinus lathami
• Crested Francolin, Francolinus sephaena
• Ring-necked Francolin, Francolinus streptophorus
• Finsch's Francolin, Francolinus finschi
• Red-winged Francolin, Francolinus levaillantii
• Grey-winged Francolin, Francolinus africanus
• Moorland Francolin, Francolinus psilolaemus
• Shelley's Francolin, Francolinus shelleyi
• Orange River Francolin, Francolinus levaillantoides
• Scaly Francolin, Francolinus squamatus
• Ahanta Francolin, Francolinus ahantensis
• Grey-striped Francolin, Francolinus griseostriatus
• Nahan's Francolin, Francolinus nahani
• Hartlaub's Francolin, Francolinus hartlaubi
• Double-spurred Francolin, Francolinus bicalcaratus
• Heuglin's Francolin, Francolinus icterorhynchus
• Clapperton's Francolin, Francolinus clappertoni
• Harwood's Francolin, Francolinus harwoodi
• Red-billed Francolin, Francolinus adspersus
• Cape Francolin, Francolinus capensis
• Natal Francolin, Francolinus natalensis
• Hildebrandt's Francolin, Francolinus hildebrandti
• Yellow-necked Francolin, Francolinus leucoscepus
• Grey-breasted Francolin, Francolinus rufopictus
• Red-necked Francolin, Francolinus afer
• Swainson's Francolin, Francolinus swainsonii
• Jackson's Francolin, Francolinus jacksoni
• Handsome Francolin, Francolinus nobilis
• Mount Cameroon Francolin, Francolinus camerunensis
• Swierstra's Francolin, Francolinus swierstrai
• Chestnut-naped Francolin, Francolinus castaneicollis
• Erckel's Francolin, Francolinus erckelii
• Djibouti Francolin, Francolinus ochropectus

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Francolinus

Look up francolin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Francolin videos on the Internet Bird Collection