Harwood's spurfowl
| Harwood's spurfowl | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Pternistis |
| Species: | P. harwoodi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pternistis harwoodi | |
| |
geographic distribution
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| Synonyms | |
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Harwood's spurfowl(Pternistis harwoodi), also known asHarwood's Francolin,is a species ofbirdin the familyPhasianidae.It is a grey-brown bird with red bill and tail, and red bare skin around the eyes. Both sexes have similar coloring, although the female is paler in color with a more extensive buff belly.[2]
This spurfowl is endemic toEthiopia,having a range restricted to theEthiopian highlandson either side of theBlue NileRiver betweenLake Tanaand its confluence with theJamma River,as well as its tributaries between these points. Originally thought to inhabitTyphabeds growing along small, shallow watercourses andacaciathickets, studies in 1996 found Harwood's spurfowl in a site with neither of these. It is threatened byhabitat lossas population pressures force locals into the marginal scrublands favored by the bird as its habitat. Harwood's spurfowl is heavily hunted for food and is sometimes also caught for sale at local markets; its eggs are also a food source.
Taxonomy
[edit]Harwood's spurfowl was described in 1899 by the English ornithologistsHerbert Weld BlundellandSimon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovatfrom a specimen that they had collected in the Aheafeg area of Ethiopia. They coined thebinomial nameFrancolinus harwoodi.[3]Thespecific epithetwas chosen to honour the taxidermist and naturalist Leonard Harwood (fl. 1899).[4]The species is now placed in thegenusPternististhat was introduced by the German naturalistJohann Georg Waglerin 1832.[5][6]Amolecular phylogeneticstudy published in 2019 found that Harwood's spurfowl issistertoClapperton's spurfowl.[7]Harwood's spurfowl is considered to bemonotypic:nosubspeciesare recognised.[6]
References
[edit]- ^BirdLife International (2018)."Pternistis harwoodi".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2018:e.T22678815A131514381.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22678815A131514381.en.Retrieved16 November2021.
- ^Nigel Redman, Terry Stevenson, and John Fanshawe,Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra(Princeton: University Press, 2009), p. 126
- ^Blundell, Herbert Weld;Lovat, Simon J.(1899)."New species discovered by Mr. H. Weld Blundell and Lord Lovat during their recent expedition through Southern Abyssinia".Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.10:19–23 [22–23].
- ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p. 187.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^Wagler, Johann Georg(1832)."Neue Sippen und Gattungen der Säugthiere und Vögel".Isis von Oken(in German and Latin). cols 1218–1235 [1229].
- ^abGill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (2020)."Pheasants, partridges, francolins".IOC World Bird List Version 10.1.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved14 February2020.
- ^Mandiwana-Neudani, T.G.; Little, R.M.; Crowe, T.M.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2019). "Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini:Pternistisspp ".Ostrich.90(2): 145–172.doi:10.2989/00306525.2019.1584925.S2CID195417777.
External links
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