Cape Frankolin
| Cape Frankolin | ||||||||||
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Cape Frankolin |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Francolinus capensis | ||||||||||
| ( Gmelin , 1789) |
The Cape Frankolin ( Francolinus capensis ) is a species of the genus of the Frankoline from the pheasant-like family (Phasianidae). It is native to the Cape provinces of South Africa and Namibia .
Appearance
The Kapfrankolin is 40-42 centimeters tall, the male is on average larger than the female. He has bright red legs. Its plumage is very dark with fine gray and white lines. Only the neck and the top of the head are plain monochrome. Males and females have the same plumage, but the male has two spurs on its legs, while the female has at most one spur. The young look similar to the parents, but have darker legs and clearer lines in the plumage. This large dark francolin can hardly be confused with any other species. His call is a loud kackalak-kackalak-kackalak.
Way of life
The Cape Frankolin lives in open, scrubby areas, as close as possible to running waters . Its nest is a trough covered with grass under a bush. The clutch size is six to eight eggs , but sometimes two females share the same nest. This species can become very tame with careful handling and will eat in gardens, on streets or with chickens. Like most francolines, he prefers to walk rather than fly, even in danger.
literature
- Steve Madge , Phil McGowan : Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse. Helm, London 2002, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0 .
- Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton: Sasol Birds of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape town 2002, ISBN 1-86872-721-1
Web links
- Pternistis capensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed November 13, 2011th