---
title: "Yellow-necked Spurfowl"
description: "Pternistis leucoscepus — Birds. The yellow-necked spurfowl or yellow-necked francolin (Pternistis leucoscepus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/yellow-necked-spurfowl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Yellow-necked Spurfowl

> Pternistis leucoscepus — Birds. The yellow-necked spurfowl or yellow-necked francolin (Pternistis leucoscepus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.

- Scientific name: *Pternistis leucoscepus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 1140
- Wikidata: [Q1262269](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1262269)
- iNaturalist taxon: [495989](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/495989)

## Names

- en: Yellow-necked Spurfowl
- de: Gelbkehlfrankolin
- es: Francolín Gorgiamarillo
- fr: Francolin à cou jaune
- nl: Geelkeelfrankolijn
- pt: Francolim-de-pescoço-amarelo
- pl: Szponiastonóg żółtogardły

## Countries with the most observations

KE (743), TZ (298), ET (21), UG (8), SO (3)

## Summary

The yellow-necked spurfowl or yellow-necked francolin (Pternistis leucoscepus) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.  It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. This species is named for the yellow patch found on its neck. Males of this species have been noted to have spurs on the back of their legs.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-necked_spurfowl

## Photo

![Yellow-necked Spurfowl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/yellow-necked-spurfowl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184195193

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/yellow-necked-spurfowl?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).