Scaly spurfowl
Pternistis squamatus (Cassin, 1857)
The scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) is a species in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 443 g to 510 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the scaly spurfowl
- Weight
- 443 g – 510 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 6src 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
Where does the scaly spurfowl live?
Not recorded
What is the scaly spurfowl?
The scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
From the Wikipedia article “Scaly spurfowl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scaly_spurfowl&oldid=1379674058), 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 scaly spurfowl endangered?
The scaly 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 scaly spurfowl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusPternistis
- SpeciesPternistis squamatus (Cassin, 1857)
Synonyms Francolinus dowashanus, Francolinus griseimarginatus, Francolinus schuetti zappeyi, Francolinus squamatus chyuluensis, Francolinus squamatus dowashanus, Francolinus squamatus tetraoninus, Francolinus squamatus zappeyi, Francolinus tetraoninus, Pternistis squamatus chyuluensis, Pternistis squamatus tetraoninus, Pternistis squamatus zappeyi, Scleroptera squamatus
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Scaly francolinEnglish
- Scaly francolinEnglish
- Scaly francolinEnglish
- SCSPEnglish
- دراج حرشفيArabic
- Francolí escamósCatalan
- francolí escatósCatalan
- frankolín šupinkatýCzech
- SkælfrankolinDanish
- SchuppenfrankolinGerman
- skvama frankolinoEsperanto
- Francolín escamosoSpanish
- tuhkfrankoliin (tuhk-frankoliinkana)Estonian
- دراج فلسدارPersian
- suomufrankoliiniFinnish
- Francolin écailléFrench
- Francolin écailleuxFrench
- Pterniste écailléFrench
- mrka jarebicaCroatian
- Francolino squamatoItalian
- ウロコシャコJapanese
- žvynuotasis frankolinasLithuanian
- Geschubde FrankolijnDutch
- skyggefrankolinNorwegian
- szponiastonóg łuskowanyPolish
- چانیاںوالا چکورWestern Panjabi
- francolim-malhadoPortuguese
- francolim-escamosoPortuguese
- Чешуйчатый турачRussian
- Чешуйчатый франколинRussian
- frankolínec šupinatýSlovak
- Ljuskasti frankolinSerbian
- fjällig frankolinSwedish
- fjällig sporrhönaSwedish
- Pullu TuraçTurkish
- турач тропічнийUkrainian
- 鱗斑鷓鴣Chinese
- 鳞斑鹧鸪Chinese
Relatives of the scaly 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
CompareScaly spurfowl vs Red-necked spurfowlScaly spurfowl vs Double-spurred spurfowlScaly spurfowl vs Cape spurfowlScaly spurfowl vs Grey-striped spurfowl
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the scaly spurfowl?
An adult scaly spurfowl weighs 443 g – 510 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the scaly spurfowl endangered?
The scaly 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 scaly spurfowl?
The scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) 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). Scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-spurfowl
“Scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-spurfowl.
@misc{scaly_spurfowl_2026,
title = {Scaly spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-spurfowl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}