Pternistis

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Genus of birds

title: "Pternistis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["pternistis", "bird-genera", "birds-of-sub-saharan-africa"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/pternistis" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pternistis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of birds ::

| name = Pternistis | image = Pternistis rufopictus (Serengeti, 2009).jpg | image_caption = Grey-breasted spurfowl in Serengeti National Park. | taxon = Pternistis | authority = Wagler, 1832 | type_species = Tetrao capensis = Tetrao afer | type_species_authority = Gmelin, 1788 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms = Francolinus

Pternistis is a genus of galliform birds formerly classified in the spurfowl group of the partridge subfamily of the pheasant family. They are described as "partridge-francolins" in literature establishing their phylogenetic placement outside the monophyletic assemblage of true spurfowls. All species are endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, excepted the double-spurred spurfowl (also present in Morocco). They are commonly known as spurfowls or francolins, but are closely related to jungle bush quail, Alectoris rock partridges, and Coturnix quail. The species are strictly monogamous, remaining mated indefinitely. They procure most of their food by digging. Spurfowls subsist almost entirely on roots, beans of leguminous shrubs and trees, tubers, and seeds, and feasting opportunistically on termites, ants, locusts, flowers, and fruit. Important predators are jackals, caracals, servals, and birds of prey, as well as herons and marabou storks. | direction = vertical | align = left | header_align = center | caption_align = center | width = 240 | image1 = Pternistis swainsonii swainsonii, 8s roepsessie, 2022-11-26 18h47, Moreletakloof NR, a.mp3 | image2 = Red-billed Francolin (Pternistis adspersus) (W1CDR0000667 BD8).ogg | caption2 = Harsh, grating calls typical of Pternistis species: P. swainsonii and P. adspersus

Taxonomy

The genus Pternistis was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The name is from the Ancient Greek pternistēs meaning "one who strikes with the heel". The type species was designated by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841 as the Cape spurfowl (Pternistis capensis).

Most of the species within the genus formerly included "francolin" in their common name. This recommendation was adopted in 2020 by Frank Gill and colleagues in the online list of world birds that they maintain on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). The common name "spurfowl" is also used for the three Asian species that are placed in the genus Galloperdix.

Species

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/FrancolinusTetraoninusKeulemans.jpg" caption="Depiction of [[Scaly spurfowl]] (''Pternistis squamatus'')."] ::

|caption=Phylogenetic tree based on a study published in 2019. |align=right |cladogram={{Cladex| style=font-size:80%;line-height:75%;width:340px; |1={{clade |1=Hartlaub's spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Mount Cameroon spurfowl |2=Handsome spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Swierstra's spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Erckel's spurfowl |2=Djibouti spurfowl |2=Chestnut-naped spurfowl |3=Black-fronted spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Jackson's spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Scaly spurfowl |2=Ahanta spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Grey-striped spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Hildebrandt's spurfowl |2=Natal spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Red-billed spurfowl |2=Cape spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Heuglin's spurfowl |2=Double-spurred spurfowl |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Harwood's spurfowl |2=Clapperton's spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Yellow-necked spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Swainson's spurfowl |2={{clade |1=Grey-breasted spurfowl |2=Red-necked spurfowl The genus contains 23 species:

Notes

References

References

  1. . ["Phasianidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=11). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
  2. Wagler, Johann Georg. (1832). "Neue Sippen und Gattungen der Säugthiere und Vögel". Isis von Oken.
  3. Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
  4. Gray, George Robert. (1841). "A List of the Genera of Birds : with their Synonyma and an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus". R. and J.E. Taylor.
  5. (1934). "Check-list of Birds of the World". Harvard University Press.
  6. (2004). "Francolins, partridges and spurfowls: what's in a name". Ostrich.
  7. "Galliformes".
  8. (2019). "Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini: ''Pternistis'' spp.". Ostrich.
  9. (2020). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". International Ornithologists' Union.

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pternistisbird-generabirds-of-sub-saharan-africa