Pternistis hildebrandti
Silhouette: Amanda Kuhlman · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Hildebrandt's spurfowl (Pternistis hildebrandti) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. The species is named for Johann Maria Hildebrandt, who collected the first specimens in Kenya. The sexes differ markedly in their plumage and females are smaller than males.
Hildebrandt's spurfowl was described in 1878 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis based on specimens collected by the zoologist Johann Maria Hildebrandt in the Taita–Taveta County of Kenya. Cabanis honoured Hildebrandt and coined the scientific name Francolinus (Scleroptera) hildebrandti. 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 Hildebrandt's spurfowl is sister to the Natal spurfowl.
Two subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 10 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 13 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hildebrandt's Francolin sighting in Tarangire National Park on a given day, based on 141 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 159th most-seen of the 411 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hildebrandt's Francolin in Tarangire National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April–October and December–February, the lowest months. Those are among Tarangire National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against almost none in September.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hildebrandt's Francolin sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Hildebrandt's Francolin sightings, Tarangire National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%), Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, about 20%) and Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 20%).
Same genus: Pternistis
The closest relatives of the Hildebrandt's Francolin that you can see in Tarangire National Park (genus Pternistis, African Spurfowl) are Yellow-necked Francolin (about 70%) and Red-necked Francolin (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hildebrandt's Francolin is recorded against all the birds logged in Tarangire National Park (141 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.
