Pternistis afer
Silhouette: Amanda Kuhlman · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The red-necked spurfowl or red-necked francolin (Pternistis afer), is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae that is a resident species in southern Africa. The red-necked spurfowl was described in 1776 by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller and given the binomial name Tetrao afer. The type locality was later designated as Benguela in western Angola. The specific epithet afer is the Latin word for "African". The species is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the red-necked spurfowl is sister to the grey-breasted spurfowl.
Although many subspecies have been described only four are now recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 12 | Odzala-Kokoua National Park | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 13 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 14 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 17 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 18 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 19 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 20 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 21 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 22 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Francolin sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 68th most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Francolin in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Virunga National Park's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-necked 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.
16th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Red-necked Francolin sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 16th at about 10%. The best odds are in Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, about 80%), Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 70%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 70%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-necked Francolin is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (59 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.
