Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis)
About the Natal Spurfowl
The Natal spurfowl or Natal francolin (Pternistis natalensis) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Natal spurfowl was described in 1833 by the Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith and given the binomial name Francolinus natalensis. Smith noted that the species inhabited brushwood thickets in the vicinity of Natal, in the east of South Africa. 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 Natal spurfowl is sister to Hildebrandt's spurfowl. The Natal spurfowl is considered as monotypic: the proposed subspecies neavei is not recognised.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 82 recordings for this species: 7 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Hildebrandt's SpurfowlPternistis hildebrandtirecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.