Birdfinding.info ⇒ Common and conspicuous across northern Namibia and Botswana, where it can be found at most, if not all, of the major wildlife safari destinations. In Namibia, reliable sites include Daan Viljoen Game Park near Windhoek, Okonjima Nature Reserve, and Waterburg Plateau, Etosha, and Bwabwata National Parks. In Botswana, ubiquitous throughout the Okovango, in the Victoria Falls area, and at Makgadikgadi National Park. In Zimbabwe, common in Hwange National Park. In South Africa, the most consistent site is Kuruman Nature Reserve.
Red-billed Francolin
Pternistis adspersus
Southwestern Africa, where it occurs in dry brushy savannas, but usually near water.
From southwestern Angola and western Zambia south through northern and central Namibia, western Zimbabwe, and most of Botswana into north-central South Africa.
Introduced to the Big Island of Hawaii in the 1960s and reported there intermittently into the 2000s.
Identification
A medium-sized, slaty-gray partridge with coral-red bill and legs, a black mask, and bold bright-yellow eyering.
The underparts are densely vermiculated black-and-gray, and the upperparts are slightly browner.
Male has a long, sharp spur on each leg.
Red-billed Francolin. (Makgadikgadi National Park, Botswana; August 22, 2010.) © Marco Valentini
Red-billed Francolin, showing densely vermiculated underparts. (Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana; July 9, 2015.) © Kelly Siderio
Red-billed Francolin, making noise. (Etosha National Park, Namibia; September 21, 2019.) © Mhairi McFarlane
Red-billed Francolin, male—note spur on leg. (Afrikat, Otjozondjupa, Namibia; May 28, 2011.) © Peter & Shelly Watts
Red-billed Francolin, male—note spur on leg. (Drotsky’s Cabins, Botswana; November 30, 2018.) © Adam Kent
Red-billed Francolin, showing brownish upperparts. (Etosha National Park, Namibia; November 30, 2014.) © Frans Vandewalle
Red-billed Francolin. (Deception Valley Lodge, Botswana; July 2, 2019.) © Kalin Ocaña
Notes
Polytypic species consisting of two recognized subspecies.
References
BirdLife International. 2016. Pternistis adspersus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22678819A92790026. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678819A92790026.en. (Accessed March 27, 2020.)
eBird. 2020. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed March 27, 2020.)
Madge, S., and P.J.K. McGowan. 2002. Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse: A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails, and Sandgrouse of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
McGowan, P.J.K., and G.M. Kirwan. 2020. Red-billed Francolin (Pternistis adspersus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. https://www.hbw.com/node/53412. (Accessed March 27, 2020.)
Pyle, R.L., and P. Pyle. 2017. The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. Version 2 (January 1, 2017). http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sinclair, I., P. Hockey, W. Tarboton, and P. Ryan. 2011. Birds of Southern Africa (Fourth Edition). Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd. Cape Town, South Africa.
van Perlo, B. 1999. Birds of Southern Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Xeno-Canto. 2020. Red-billed Spurfowl – Pternistis adspersus. https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Pternistis-adspersus. (Accessed March 27, 2020.)