Francolin

Of the approximately 17 extant species, the natural range of five (composing the genus Francolinus and Ortygornis) are restricted to Asia, while the remaining genera are restricted to Africa. Several species have been introduced to other parts of the world, notably Hawaii. Twelve of the species which occur in Africa are found in the subcontinental region of southern Africa; of these, seven occur in varying proportions within the political boundaries of Namibia and Zambia. Six southern African francolins are considered endemic to the subcontinent, of which three are found in Namibia and Zambia (the Hartlaub's, red-billed and Orange River francolins). The Cape spurfowl, endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa, occurs marginally in southern Namibia and southwestern Zambia. A fossil francolin, Francolinus capeki, has been described from Late Pliocene deposits of Hungary; the contemporary fossil galliforms "Francolinus" minor and "F." subfrancolinus are now placed in Palaeocryptonyx. ==Taxonomy==

Until the early 1990s, major authorities placed all francolins in the genus Francolinus. The crested francolin and Nahan's francolin were considered possibly quite distinct, but still maintained in Peliperdix and Pternistis respectively. and the Nahan's francolin was moved to Ptilopachus in 2006. Though some still maintain all these in Francolinus, the split into multiple genera is becoming more widespread. In 2021, two species in Francolinus (the grey and swamp francolins) along with the crested francolin were moved into the genus Ortygornis, while three species from Peliperdix (the coqui, white-throated, and Schlegel's francolins) were moved into the new genus Campocolinus. Pternistis was moved to the tribe Coturnicini and, as with Nahan's "francolin", is no longer considered a francolin. When split, the English name "francolin" is generally restricted to the members of the genera Francolinus, Ortygornis, Campocolinus, Peliperdix and Scleroptila, its name is sometimes modified to Nahan's partridge. Species • Peliperdix: • Latham's francolin, Peliperdix lathami • Ortygornis: • Crested francolin, Ortygornis sephaena • Grey francolin, Ortygornis pondicerianus • Swamp francolin, Ortygornis gularis • Francolinus: • Black francolin, Francolinus francolinus • Painted francolin, Francolinus pictus • Chinese francolin, Francolinus pintadeanus • Campocolinus: • Coqui francolin, Campocolinus coqui • White-throated francolin, Campocolinus albogularis • Schlegel's francolin, Campocolinus schlegelii • Scleroptila: • Ring-necked francolin, Scleroptila streptophora • Red-winged francolin, Scleroptila levaillantii • Finsch's francolin, Scleroptila finschi • Moorland francolin, Scleroptila psilolaema • Grey-winged francolin, Scleroptila afra • Orange River francolin, Scleroptila gutturalis • Shelley's francolin, Scleroptila shelleyi With a paraphyletic classification, the genus Pternistis in the tribe Coturnicini is also considered a francolin; due to the resulting paraphyly, this classification is no longer supported and has been recommended against. == References ==