Pternistis squamatus
Silhouette: Amanda Kuhlman · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The scaly spurfowl was formally described in 1857 by the American ornithologist John Cassin from specimens collected by Paul Du Chaillu in the Cape Lopez region in what is now the West Africa state of Gabon. Cassin coined the binomial name Francolinus squamatus. The specific epithet squamatus is Latin for "scaled". The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. A phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the scaly spurfowl is a sister species to the Ahanta spurfowl.
Three subspecies are now recognised: Pternistis squamatus squamatus (Cassin, 1857) — southeast Nigeria to north and east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Gabon and the Republic of the Congo (R Congo) Pternistis squamatus schuetti (Cabanis, 1880) — east R Congo to Uganda, central and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 11 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 14 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Scaly Francolin sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 455th most-seen of the 469 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Scaly Francolin in Serengeti National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scaly Francolin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Scaly Francolin sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Aberdare National Park (Kenya, about 40%), Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and Kibale National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
Same genus: Pternistis
The closest relatives of the Scaly Francolin that you can see in Serengeti National Park (genus Pternistis, African Spurfowl) are Grey-breasted Francolin (about 40%) and Red-necked Francolin (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Scaly Francolin is recorded against all the birds logged in Serengeti National Park (6 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.
