Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Sudan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Uganda.
Equatorial Africa between 10o northern and 10o S: south-central Nigeria south-east to western Zaire and east to Uganda, southern Sudan and south-western Ethiopia, then south to eastern Zaire, north-eastern Tanzania and extreme northern Malawi; also recorded in central and southern Zaire and west-central Sudan.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Scaly Spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) [XC107545]
by Rory Nefdt from Udekwa ranger station, Iringa, Tanzania (call)
Scaly Spurfowl (Pternistis squamatus) [XC816745]
by James Bradley from Castle Lodge Mount Kenya, Kenya (call)
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Ahanta Francolin (Pternistis ahantensis) and Grey-striped Francolin (Pternistis griseostriatus) and all have been separated in genus Squamatocolinus. Recently proposed reorganization of Francolinus places present species in genus Pternistis with 23 other species. Present species shows much internal variation and clinal extremes are sometimes accorded subspecific status, with up to seven different subspecies having been proposed.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
squamatus (Cassin, 1857) - Equatorial Africa from south-central Nigeria to southern Ethiopia and Malawi.
schuetti (Cabanis, 1880) - Eastern DR Congo to Uganda, central Kenya, and Ethiopia.
maranensis (Mearns, 1910) - Southern Kenya, northern Tanzania.
usambarae (Conover, 1928) - North-eastern Tanzania.
uzungwensis (Bangs & Loveridge, 1931) - South-eastern Tanzania.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet