Pternistis rufopictus
Silhouette: Amanda Kuhlman · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
The grey-breasted spurfowl or grey-breasted francolin (Pternistis rufopictus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Tanzania. The grey-breasted spurfowl was described by the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow in 1887 and given its current binomial name Pternistis rufopictus. The specific epithet combines the Latin rufus meaning "red" and pictus meaning "painted". A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the grey-breasted spurfowl is sister to the red-necked spurfowl. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the grey-breasted spurfowl Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-breasted Francolin sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 716 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and April
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-breasted Francolin in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against about 10% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Ngorongoro Conservation Area's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey-breasted Francolin sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Grey-breasted Francolin sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Serengeti National Park (Tanzania, about 40%).
Same genus: Pternistis
The closest relatives of the Grey-breasted Francolin that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Pternistis, African Spurfowl) are Hildebrandt's Francolin (about 20%) and Yellow-necked Francolin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey-breasted Francolin is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (716 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.
