Nahan's partridge (''Ptilopachus nahani''), also known as the Nahan's francolin, is a
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
traditionally placed in the family
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...
. As suggested by its alternative name, it was formerly believed to be a
francolin
Francolins are birds in the tribe Gallini that traditionally have been placed in the genus ''Francolinus'', but now commonly are divided into multiple genera.
As previously defined, they were paraphyletic as the genus ''Pternistis'', which was ...
and placed either in ''
Francolinus
''Francolinus'' is a genus of birds in the francolin group of the tribe Gallini in the pheasant family. Species
Its three species range from western Asia and central Asia through to southern Asia and south-eastern Asia
Southeast Asia, als ...
'' or ''
Pternistis
''Pternistis'' is a genus of galliform birds formerly classified in the spurfowl group of the partridge subfamily of the pheasant family. They are described as "partridge-francolins" in literature establishing their phylogenetic placement out ...
'', but it is now known that its closest relative is the
stone partridge
The stone partridge (''Ptilopachus petrosus'') is a bird of the New World quail family. This largely brown bird, which commonly holds its tail raised, is found in scrubland and lightly wooded habitats, often near rocks, from Kenya and Ethiopia to ...
and together may in fact be the only African representatives of the
New World quail
The New World quail are small birds only distantly related to the Old World quail, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family, the Odontophoridae, whereas Old World quail are in the pheasant f ...
s (Odontophoridae).Crowe, T. (2010). ''Phylogenetic affinities of enigmatic African galliforms: the Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus and Latham's and Nahan's 'Francolins' Francolinus lathami and F. nahani.'' Cladistics 26: 206-206. (Abstract).
Description
At about in length, the Nahan's partridge is a relatively small,
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
bird with a red eye-ring, legs and base of the bill, brownish upperparts, and black-and-white underparts and head.
Distribution and habitat
This
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
species is found in the rainforests in northeastern
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
,McGowan, P. J. K. (1994). Nahan's francolin (''Francolinus nahani''). Pp. 497 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (1994). ''
Handbook of the Birds of the World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...
.'' Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelon. and it is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and hunting.
References
Nahan's partridge
Nahan's partridge (''Ptilopachus nahani''), also known as the Nahan's francolin, is a bird traditionally placed in the family Phasianidae. As suggested by its alternative name, it was formerly believed to be a francolin and placed either in ''Fr ...
Nahan's partridge
Nahan's partridge (''Ptilopachus nahani''), also known as the Nahan's francolin, is a bird traditionally placed in the family Phasianidae. As suggested by its alternative name, it was formerly believed to be a francolin and placed either in ''Fr ...