Crested francolin

The crested francolin (Ortygornis sephaena) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in southern Africa. One of its subspecies, Ortygornis sephaena rovuma, is sometimes considered a separate species, Kirk's francolin.

Crested francolin
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Tribe:	Gallini
Genus:	Ortygornis
Species:	O. sephaena
Binomial name
Ortygornis sephaena (Smith, 1836)
Synonyms
Francolinus sephaena Dendroperdix sephaena

Taxonomy

Formerly, the crested francolin was classified in its own genus Dendroperdix, but phylogenetic analysis indicates that it groups with the grey francolin (O. pondicerianus) and swamp francolin (O. gularis). As a result, all three species were reclassified into the genus Ortygornis.^[2][3]

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[4]

• O. s. grantii (Hartlaub, 1866)
• O. s. rovuma (Gray, GR, 1867) - Kirk's francolin
• O. s. spilogaster (Salvadori, 1888)
• O. s. zambesiae (Mackworth-Praed, 1920)
• O. s. sephaena (Smith, A, 1836)