Swainson's spurfowl

Pternistis swainsonii

The Swainson's spurfowl (Pternistis swainsonii) is a bird found in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Grassland and farm edges in southern Africa. It eats seeds and nuts, 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 swainsonii
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana

🏡 Where the Swainson's spurfowl lives

Grassland and farm edges in southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts40%
🌿 Leaves & plants40%
🐛 Insects & bugs20%

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 crows loudly at dawn from tall termite mounds.

Hear the Swainson's spurfowl

Recorded by Sander Bot (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0), xeno-canto XC126346. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Swainson's spurfowl

Where does the Swainson's spurfowl live?

The Swainson's spurfowl lives in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Grassland and farm edges in southern Africa.

What does the Swainson's spurfowl eat?

seeds and nuts (about 40%), leaves and other plant parts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Swainson's 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.