Crested francolin

Ortygornis sephaena

The Crested francolin (Ortygornis sephaena) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Uganda. Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, leaves and other plant parts and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Ortygornis sephaena
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Uganda

🏡 Where the Crested francolin lives

Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%
🍎 Fruit10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It stands on a termite mound and calls loudly at dawn.

Hear the Crested francolin

Recorded by Jonathan Onongo (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1140601. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Crested francolin

Where does the Crested francolin live?

The Crested francolin lives in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Uganda. Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa.

What does the Crested francolin eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), fruit (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Crested francolin endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.