Ortygornis sephaena
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% 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 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin sighting in Ruaha National Park on a given day, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 276 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Francolin in Ruaha National Park on a given day, against about 50% in May, August and November–February, the lowest months. That is one of Ruaha National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 180 mm in January.
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.
4th of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Crested Francolin sightings, Ruaha National Park ranks 4th at about 50%. 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 Ruaha National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Red-necked Francolin (about 80%), Hildebrandt's Francolin (about 20%) and Shelley's 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 Ruaha National Park (134 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.
