The Cape spurfowl or Cape francolin is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is endemic to southern Africa, where it is the largest francolin. It occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa, and locally northwards to southern Namibia. It has adapted to alien vegetation and a variety of human-altered habitats, but scrubby roosting and nesting space is a prerequisite. The species is not threatened.
Region
Southern Africa
Typical Environment
Native to the southwestern parts of South Africa, extending locally northwards into southern Namibia. It occupies fynbos, renosterveld, Karoo scrub, rocky hillsides, and riverine thickets. The species readily uses agricultural edges, orchards, and vineyards where cover is nearby. It avoids dense forests and true desert but persists in mosaic landscapes with patches of scrub for roosting and nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Also known as the Cape francolin, this is the largest francolin in southern Africa. Males have sharp leg spurs used in territorial disputes. It thrives in cultivated landscapes such as vineyards and orchards but still requires dense scrub for roosting and nesting. Its loud dawn calls often reveal family groups before they are seen.
Temperament
wary and noisy
Flight Pattern
explosive bursts with short rapid wingbeats, usually followed by a glide into cover
Social Behavior
Often found in pairs or small family coveys, especially outside the breeding season. Ground-nesting in concealed scrapes within dense scrub or grass tussocks. Territorial during breeding, with males defending small areas around favored cover and feeding sites.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, harsh cackling series that carries at dawn and dusk, often delivered antiphonally by pairs. Calls include rapid kek-kek-kek phrases and sharp alarm notes when disturbed.
Plumage
Heavily streaked and vermiculated brown and grey with bold whitish shaft-streaks on the underparts; back and wings finely barred.
Diet
Feeds on a mix of seeds, bulbs, shoots, and fallen grain, supplemented with insects such as beetles, termites, and other invertebrates. Frequently scratches in soil and leaf litter to expose bulbs and tubers in fynbos and renosterveld. In farmlands it capitalizes on spilt grain and fruit, especially in vineyards and orchards.
Preferred Environment
Forages along edges of scrub, rocky slopes, and field margins where cover is close at hand. Often uses road verges and vineyard rows in early morning before retreating to denser vegetation.
