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White-necked Rockfowl

Picathartes gymnocephalus

Vulnerable · IUCN Red List

VUVulnerableInvertebratesForestCup nestMedium · 196 g
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 1
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 2
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 3
Photo: White-necked_Rockfowl_(Picathartes_gymnocephalus).jpg: Michael Andersen from Lawrence, United States derivative work: Sabine's Sunbird (talk) · CC BY 2.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 4
Photo: Michael Andersen from Lawrence, United States · CC BY 2.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 5
Photo: This image is created by user Bram ter Keurs at Observation.org, a global biodiversity recording project. · CC BY 3.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 6
Photo: desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 7
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 8
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus), photo 9
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0

ID tip

This rockfowl measures around 38 to 41 cm (15 to 16 in) in length, with its notably long tail contributing about 18 cm (7.1 in). Adult rockfowl show little sexual dimorphism in plumage and the sexes cannot be told apart by appearance. On the adult, the head, excluding the chin and throat, is completely bare of feathers except for a thin layer of fuzz on the forehead. The head's skin is bright yellow except for two large, circular patches of black skin located just behind the eye and containing the ear; only a thin, 2 mm (0.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the White-necked Rockfowl

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 7 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the White-necked Rockfowl

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Ghana Sierra Leone Côte d’Ivoire Guinea

Recorded as a rare visitor in Liberia.

About the White-necked Rockfowl

The white-necked rockfowl is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae, with a long neck and tail. Also known as the white-necked picathartes, this passerine is mainly found in rocky forested areas at higher altitudes in West Africa from Guinea to Ghana. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other. The rockfowl typically chooses to live near streams and inselbergs. It has no recognized subspecies, though some believe that it forms a superspecies with the grey-necked rockfowl. The white-necked rockfowl has greyish-black upperparts and white underparts. Its unusually long, dark brown tail is used for balance, and its thighs are muscular.

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

Easily confused with

Grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas) Grey-necked RockfowlPicathartes oreasThis rockfowl measures approximately 33 to 38 centimetres (13 to 15 in) in length, with its notably long tail contributing about 14 centimetres (5.5 in).

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