Pternistis swainsonii
Swainson’s Spurfowl is a fairly large (up to 800g) type of francolin. They are normally encountered in pairs or small groups numbering up to 6 in woodland, savanna, grassland and planted fields, where they subsist on seeds, berries, other plant material and insects.
In South Africa, these birds breed mostly in summer and autumn, although nesting has been recorded throughout the year. Nests are well-hidden scrapes in the ground in which up to 7 eggs are laid.
Swainson’s Spurfowl is a common resident of South Africa’s northern provinces (Kwazulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga). Outside of our borders they occur in Lesotho, Swaziland, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia, and marginally into Malawi. Despite being hunted as food, the IUCN considers Swainson’s Spurfowl as being of “Least Concern” owing to an abundant and aparently stable population.
DeWetsWild 
oh, that is a lovely bird! it’s a super-special swainsons-spurfowl!
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It’s one of those that you get used to seeing so often that you don’t always notice their special beauty anymore.
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Lovely birds. Can they incubate seven eggs and have them hatched!
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Indeed they can! But to get a photo of the chicks is extremely difficult as the hen keeps them well hidden at the slightest sign of danger.
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Yes, I could see that and understand. We watch nature videos every night.
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beautiful bird.
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Thanks Gavin!
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that seems like a lot of eggs–is that unusual?
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I think the ground-dwelling birds normally lay more eggs than those nesting up high, Lois, due to a greater threat of predation to the eggs and chicks.
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Thank you for the explanation. That makes total sense.
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I just hope I am right! 😀
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