Ortygornis sephaena
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 →
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin sighting in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, based on 205 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June–August and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin in Pilanesberg National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Pilanesberg National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in December.
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.
11th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Crested Francolin sightings, Pilanesberg National Park ranks 11th at about 40%. 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 Pilanesberg National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Natal Francolin (about 60%) and Swainson's Francolin (about 30%), 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 Pilanesberg National Park (205 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.
