Eastern Mali (from Azzawakh) east through central Niger, north-eastern Nigeria, northern Cameroon, southern Chad and southern and central Sudan to northern Uganda and Ethiopia.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Clapperton's Spurfowl (Pternistis clappertoni) [XC474305]
by Sun Madakan from Mountain View Hotel, Lalibela, North Wello, Amhara, Ethiopia (call)
Clapperton's Spurfowl (Pternistis clappertoni) [XC157413]
by Sun Madakan from Niwadji, Extreme North, Cameroon (call)
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Heuglin's Francolin (Pternistis icterorhynchus), Double-spurred Francolin (Pternistis bicalcaratus) and Harwood's Francolin (Pternistis harwoodi). Has been included in genus Chaetopus. Recently proposed reorganization of Francolinus places present species in genus Pternistis with 23 other species.
Various subspecies proposed, including sharpii, konigseggi and nigrosquamatus, but geographical variation in plumage is complex and validity of subspecies is dubious.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
clappertoni (Children & Vigors, 1826) - Sub-Saharan Africa (Mali to Sudan and Ethiopia).
koenigseggi (Madarász, 1914) - Eastern Sudan.
heuglini (Neumann, 1907) - South-western and south-central Sudan.
sharpii (Ogilvie-Grant, 1892) - Northern and central Ethiopia, Eritrea.
nigrosquamatus (Neumann, 1902) - Eastern Sudan, western Ethiopia.
gedgii (Ogilvie-Grant, 1891) - South-eastern Sudan to north-eastern Uganda.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet