Moorland francolin
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The moorland francolin (Scleroptila psilolaema) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.
| Moorland francolin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Illustration of S. psilolaema by Joseph Smit, 1893 | |
_(cropped).jpg) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Scleroptila |
| Species: | S. psilolaema |
| Binomial name | |
| Scleroptila psilolaema (Gray, GR, 1867) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Distribution
It is endemic to the Ethiopian montane moorlands.[1]
Taxonomy
The Elgon francolin of the highlands of Kenya and Uganda was formerly considered a subspecies of S. psilolaema, but was split as a distinct species by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2014, and by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022 based on a 2019 study.[2] Compared to the moorland francolin, the Elgon francolin is brighter (more rufescent) and lacks black spots to the throat, and also differs in vocalizations.[3][4]
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