Red-necked Spurfowl

Pternistis afer

Partridges, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies · Galliformes · Uncommon

The Red-necked Spurfowl (Pternistis afer) is a uncommon partridges, pheasants, grouse, and alli found in 19 countries, weighing about 455 g. The red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae that is a resident species in southern Africa.

Least ConcernUncommonEats plantsshrublandscrape nest455 g

About the Red-necked Spurfowl

The red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae that is a resident species in southern Africa.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The red-necked spurfowl is 25–38 cm (9.8–15.0 in) in length, with significant size differences between the subspecies. It is a generally dark spurfowl, brown above and black-streaked grey or white underparts. The bill, bare facial skin, neck and legs are bright red.

Where it lives

Recorded as a rare visitor in United Arab Emirates, Eswatini.

When to see it

The Red-necked Spurfowl can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Red-necked Spurfowl?
The red-necked spurfowl is 25–38 cm (9.8–15.0 in) in length, with significant size differences between the subspecies. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Red-necked Spurfowl?
The Red-necked Spurfowl is a large sized bird weighing about 455 g.
Where can you see a Red-necked Spurfowl?
The Red-necked Spurfowl occurs in 19 countries, including South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.
What birds look similar to a Red-necked Spurfowl?
The Red-necked Spurfowl is most easily confused with the Red-billed Spurfowl, the Erckel's Spurfowl and the Yellow-necked Spurfowl.
Is the Red-necked Spurfowl endangered?
The Red-necked Spurfowl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Red-necked Spurfowl for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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