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.
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.
Subspecies Subspecies include:
Ortygornis sephaena grantii (Hartlaub, 1866) Ortygornis sephaena rovuma (Gray, GR, 1867) - Kirk's francolin Ortygornis sephaena sephaena (Smith, A, 1836) Ortygornis sephaena spilogaster (Salvadori, 1888) Ortygornis sephaena zambesiae (Mackworth-Praed, 1920)
References
External links Crested Francolin - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds