Natal spurfowl

Pternistis natalensis

The Natal spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis) is a bird found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Bushland and gardens in southern Africa. It eats leaves and other plant parts and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Pternistis natalensis
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa and Zimbabwe

🏡 Where the Natal spurfowl lives

Bushland and gardens in southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🌿 Leaves & plants70%
🐛 Insects & bugs30%

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 calls very loudly in the early morning.

Hear the Natal spurfowl

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1152508. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Natal spurfowl

Where does the Natal spurfowl live?

The Natal spurfowl lives in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Bushland and gardens in southern Africa.

What does the Natal spurfowl eat?

leaves and other plant parts (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Natal spurfowl 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.