Grey-breasted spurfowl
Pternistis rufopictus Reichenow, 1887
The grey-breasted spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus) is a species in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 588 g to 848 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the grey-breasted spurfowl
- Weight
- 588 g – 848 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the grey-breasted spurfowl
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Where does the grey-breasted spurfowl live?
Not recorded
What is the grey-breasted spurfowl?
The grey-breasted spurfowl or grey-breasted francolin (Pternistis rufopictus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Tanzania.
The grey-breasted spurfowl was described by the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow in 1887 and given its current binomial name Pternistis rufopictus. The specific epithet combines the Latin rufus meaning "red" and pictus meaning "painted". A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the grey-breasted spurfowl is sister to the red-necked spurfowl. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
From the Wikipedia article “Grey-breasted spurfowl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey-breasted_spurfowl&oldid=1380595234), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the grey-breasted spurfowl endangered?
The grey-breasted spurfowl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the grey-breasted spurfowl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusPternistis
- SpeciesPternistis rufopictus Reichenow, 1887
Synonyms Francolinus rufopictus, Francolinus rufopictus, Pternistes rufopictus
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- GBSPEnglish
- Gray-breasted francolinEnglish
- Gray-breasted spurfowlEnglish
- Grey-breasted francolinEnglish
- Grey-breasted francolinEnglish
- دراج رمادي الصدرArabic
- francolí del llac VictòriaCatalan
- frankolín šedoprsýCzech
- Gråbrystet SporehøneDanish
- GraubrustfrankolinGerman
- grizbrusta frankolinoEsperanto
- Francolín de VictoriaSpanish
- Francolín del VictoriaSpanish
- serengeti frankoliin (serengeti frankoliinkana)Estonian
- tansanianfrankoliiniFinnish
- Francolin à poitrine griseFrench
- Pterniste à poitrine griseFrench
- sivoprsa jarebicaCroatian
- Francolino pettogrigioItalian
- タンザニアアカノドシャコJapanese
- pilkakrūtis frankolinasLithuanian
- GrijshalsfrankolijnDutch
- serengetifrankolinNorwegian
- szponiastonóg smugowanyPolish
- francolim-de-peito-cinzentoPortuguese
- Серобрюхий турачRussian
- Серобрюхий франколинRussian
- frankolínec sivoprsýSlovak
- Sivogrudi frankolinSerbian
- victoriasporrhönaSwedish
- Al Çizgili TuraçTurkish
- турач танзанійськийUkrainian
- 彩鹧鸪Chinese
- 灰胸鷓鴣〔棕彩鷓鴣〕Chinese
Relatives of the grey-breasted spurfowl
Other species in the same genus Pternistis.

Red-necked spurfowl
Pternistis afer

Double-spurred spurfowl
Pternistis bicalcaratus

Cape spurfowl
Pternistis capensis

Grey-striped spurfowl
Pternistis griseostriatus

Yellow-necked spurfowl
Pternistis leucoscepus

Natal spurfowl
Pternistis natalensis
CompareGrey-breasted spurfowl vs Red-necked spurfowlGrey-breasted spurfowl vs Double-spurred spurfowlGrey-breasted spurfowl vs Cape spurfowlGrey-breasted spurfowl vs Grey-striped spurfowl
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the grey-breasted spurfowl?
An adult grey-breasted spurfowl weighs 588 g – 848 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the grey-breasted spurfowl endangered?
The grey-breasted spurfowl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the grey-breasted spurfowl?
The grey-breasted spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus) belongs to the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Grey-breasted spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-breasted-spurfowl
“Grey-breasted spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-breasted-spurfowl.
@misc{grey_breasted_spurfowl_2026,
title = {Grey-breasted spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-breasted-spurfowl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}