Moorland francolin explained

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

Distribution

It is found in moorland in the highlands of Ethiopia.

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.