Jackson's spurfowl or Jackson's francolin is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in the highlands of Kenya and Uganda. Its preferred habitats include mountainous forests and stands of bamboo above 2000 m. It is common in Mount Kenya and the Aberdare range. Males and females are similar in plumage but males have spurs on their legs and tend to be larger.
Region
East African Highlands
Typical Environment
Occurs in the highlands of central and western Kenya and adjacent Uganda, including Mount Kenya, the Aberdare Range, Mount Elgon, and nearby uplands. It inhabits montane evergreen forests, bamboo stands, forest edges, and adjacent moorland ecotones. Birds typically stay close to dense understory cover but regularly venture onto paths and small clearings to feed. It is largely absent from lowlands and heavily cultivated plains. Local presence tracks intact forest and bamboo mosaics.
Altitude Range
2000–3500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Jackson's spurfowl, also called Jackson's francolin, is a wary, ground-dwelling gamebird of the East African highlands. It favors dense montane forest, bamboo, and forest edge above 2000 m and is common on Mount Kenya and the Aberdares, with populations in western Kenyan and Ugandan highlands. Males have sharp tarsal spurs used in defense and dominance displays. Pairs or small family coveys are most often seen at dawn and dusk along trails and clearings.
Temperament
wary and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with explosive takeoff; brief downhill glides
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs or small family coveys that keep close contact calls while foraging. Nests are simple ground scrapes lined with vegetation, concealed under shrubs or grass tussocks. Likely monogamous, with breeding linked to rainy seasons and local food availability. Roosting often occurs in low vegetation or on the ground within dense cover.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A loud, accelerating, cackling series often given at dawn and dusk, sometimes in duets between pair members. Contact calls are softer clucks and whistles used to maintain cohesion in cover.
Plumage
Heavily barred and mottled brown upperparts with fine black and whitish patterning; underparts rufous to chestnut with scalloping and barring. Face shows pale throat and cheek contrasting with darker head sides, and bare reddish facial skin. Feathers are dense and cryptic, aiding camouflage on the forest floor.
Diet
Feeds on a mix of seeds, green shoots, berries, and bamboo mast when available, supplemented by insects and other invertebrates such as beetles, termites, and ants. It scratches in leaf litter and soil to uncover food items. Diet shifts seasonally with fruiting and seeding of montane plants. Grit is ingested to aid digestion.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, bamboo thickets, trails, and small clearings where cover is close by. Often works slowly through dense understory, emerging briefly to feed in more open patches.
