Moorland francolin explained

The moorland francolin (Scleroptila psilolaema) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.

Distribution

It is endemic to the Ethiopian montane moorlands.

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.^[1] Compared to the moorland francolin, the Elgon francolin is brighter (more rufescent) and lacks black spots to the throat, and also differs in vocalizations.^{[2] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: abc_admin. 2019-05-13. Elgon Francolin Scleroptila elgonensis should be treated as a species distinct from Moorland Francolin S. psilolaema. 2022-01-29. African Bird Club. en.
2. McGowan, P. J. K. (1994). Moorland Francolin (Francolinus elgonensis). Pp. 494 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. eds. (1994). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
3. Web site: IOC World Bird List 12.1. 2022-01-29. IOC World Bird List Datasets. en-US. 10.14344/ioc.ml.12.1.