Ortygornis sephaena
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The crested francolin (Ortygornis sephaena) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in southern Africa. One of its subspecies, Ortygornis sephaena rovuma, is sometimes considered a separate species, Kirk's francolin.
Formerly, the crested francolin was classified in its own genus Dendroperdix, but phylogenetic analysis indicates that it groups with the grey francolin (O. pondicerianus) and swamp francolin (O. gularis). As a result, all three species were reclassified into the genus Ortygornis.
Ortygornis sephaena zambesiae (Mackworth-Praed, 1920) Crested Francolin - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 356th most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. Those are among Ngorongoro Conservation Area's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 190 mm in April.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Francolin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
37th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Crested Francolin sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 37th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 70%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 60%) and Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Phasianidae
The closest relatives of the Crested Francolin that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Grey-breasted Francolin (about 20%), Hildebrandt's Francolin (about 20%) and Coqui Francolin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Francolin is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (40 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
