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Swierstra's Spurfowl | Pternistis swierstrai
Swierstra's frankolijn | Francolín de Swierstra
Swierstra's Spurfowl is a rare endemic of the highlands of western Angola, tied to the last remnants of montane forest on the highest peaks. It is poorly known and one of the most sought-after birds in Angola.
Voice
A series of rough kurr-kraak calls that become louder and more emphatic and then fade away. It calls mainly at dawn and towards evening from the forest edge; rarely heard at other times.
Recording: Derek Engelbrecht — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · shortened to the first 60 s, mono · xeno-canto
Identification
About 32 cm. The male has a largely white face and white throat, bordered by a broad black breast band. The underparts are white with heavy black streaks and blotches on the breast and flanks. The upperparts are dark brown with pale shaft streaks. The bill and legs are red. The female resembles the male but is duller, with a less sharply defined breast band and browner underparts. It keeps to dense undergrowth and flushes only when it must.
Confusion species
Hardly confusable within its small range. The Red-Winged Francolin of the surrounding grasslands has a rufous wing, an orange-buff throat and yellow legs, and lives in open grass. The Grey-Striped Spurfowl, lower on the escarpment, lacks the black-and-white pattern and has grey-streaked brown underparts.
Habitat
The edges of montane forest and forest remnants in gullies, dense scrub and the rank grassland that adjoins them, at 1,800 to 2,600 m. It forages on the ground for seeds, berries, tubers and invertebrates. The habitat consists of small, isolated forest fragments in a sea of grassland.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of southern Africa.
Range and movements
Endemic to Angola: the central and western highlands of Huambo, Benguela and Cuanza Sul, best known from Mount Moco and also recorded in the Namba Mountains among other sites. Not found outside Angola.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Mount Moco is the classic site, with a stay at Kanjonde village and an early climb to the forest remnants in the gullies. Listen at dawn for the calling series and wait quietly at the forest edge; the bird sometimes crosses an open path or feeds briefly in the early sun.
Conservation status
Vulnerable. The small, fragmented population is declining as forest remnants are felled, cleared for cultivation and damaged by grassland fires; hunting also plays a part. Most of the habitat is unprotected, although local forest-restoration projects exist on Mount Moco.
Scientific name
Pternistis swierstrai | (Roberts, 1929)
Roberts described the species in 1929 as Chaetopus swierstrai; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Pternistis was introduced in 1832 by Wagler. Pternistis comes from Greek pternistēs 'one who strikes with the heel', from pterna 'heel', after the spurs on the legs. swierstrai honours the Dutch/South African entomologist Cornelis Jacobus Swierstra (1874–1952), director of the Transvaal Museum from 1922 to 1946. The specimen the first description was based on came from Mombola, Angola.