Pternistis natalensis
An inhabitant of woodland, savanna, riverine thickets, wooded hills and coastal forests, the Natal Spurfowl subsists on an omnivorous diet of seeds, bulbs, roots, fruit and insects, often pecking undigested items from the dung of large herbivores. They’ll also exploit agricultural fields adjacent to their preferred habitats. Natal Spurfowl weigh in at around 400g.
Natal Spurfowl move around in pairs or family groups. Nests are scraped in the ground among dense vegetation, and lined with soft plant material and feathers. Clutches contain up to 7 eggs, incubated by the female for 3 weeks. Breeding has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in summer and autumn.
The Natal Spurfowl occurs in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, where they can be found in the provinces of Kwazulu-Natal, Free State, North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. They are common throughout their range and listed as “least concern” by the IUCN.
DeWetsWild 
Their wonderful natural camouflage sure makes it easy for them to blend into the background. Their feathers are so intricately patterned.
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The camouflage is very necessary when every meat eater considers you a tasty morsel!
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Parmantig!
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En hoe! Dankie vir die inloer, Tina.
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Nice job getting such a clear eye on the header photo. 🙂
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Thanks a lot, Kathy!
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They blend so beautifully which probably helps them stay on the least concern list. Lovely photos.
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Thanks P J B. They are also prodigious breeders, which helps when the species features on so many predators’ menus.
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Beautiful pictures, Dries. 🙂 It reminds me on a bird we have here in Sweden but I can´t figure it out which I read in Wikipedia that natal Spurfowl is related with pheasant, but I have never seen any up in a tree. 🙂 Great pictures.
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Thanks John! In Afrikaans we call them and their kin “fisant”, thus the relationship to pheasants seem evident.
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What a pattern in those feathers!
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And it helps them to blend beautifully into the scrub!
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the photo of mama and her chicks is so sweet.
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Thanks Lois – She made me work hard to get the pictures of her chicks!
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Oh no! You did great, though.
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Thanks very much, Lois!
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oh the beauty of natures natural design .. an interior decorator would do well to duplicate that pattern 🙂
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It is a lovely pattern indeed, thanks Kate!
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It looks like a cross between a Ptarmigan a Spruce Grouse and a Plymouth chicken! Neat! 🙂
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Perfectly put together for its place in the world!
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