Djibouti spurfowl

Its natural habitat is high elevation dry forest composed primarily of African juniper.

Ongoing conservation work includes the restoration of some juniper forest, and surveys to obtain accurate population counts and to raise awareness.

[3] The Djibouti spurfowl was originally collected on February 22, 1952, by Captain Albospeyre, the military commander of Tadjoura in the Forêt du Day.

[4] It was then described by French ornithologists Jean Dorst and Christian Jouanin later that year as Francolinus ochropectus in L'Oiseau et la Revue française d'Ornithologie.

[7] The Djibouti spurfowl is now placed in the genus Pternistis that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832.

[17] The feathers on the body and neck have a gold or straw-colored center that is bordered with dark brown and edged in white.

One is the Forêt du Day in the Goda Mountains, approximately 25 km (16 mi) north of the Gulf of Tadjoura.

[4] The other site is located in the Mabla Mountains, which are 80 km (50 mi) northeast of the Forêt du Day and remain unsurveyed.

[15] Mixed in with this forest habitat are box-trees (Buxus hildebrandtii) and African olives (Olea europaea africana).

[14][22] Much of the bird's African juniper forest habitat has been damaged or destroyed due to human usage; the ability of this dead woodland to support the Djibouti spurfowl remains unknown, although some juveniles have been seen in it.

[22] It has been noted that due to the decline of the juniper, Buxus hildebrandtii is now the dominant tree in areas most frequently inhabited by the spurfowl.

[2] This species lives in small groups and is very shy, often remaining in dense vegetation to avoid detection,[20] and therefore its ecology is very little studied.

[4] While the population in the Mabla Mountains has yet to be surveyed, numbers in the Forêt du Day continued to drop, with 500–1000 Djibouti spurfowls recorded in 1998 and only 115–135 in 2004.

At the Forêt du Day site, 95% of its preferred juniper habitat is dead or dying and is unable to support this bird.

[4] While an overarching reason behind this destruction remains unknown, overgrazing by cattle, camels, and goats is believed to have been a significant contributor,[4] along with rain, climate change, and a fungal disease.

[4] There have been studies of the area and the related environmental and economic issues involved; very few of the suggestions made by these surveys have been implemented, partially due to the unrest in Djibouti since the early 1990s.

[4] In May 2008, 1,000 km2 (250,000 acres) of forest near the village of Day were set aside for a tree nursery in an attempt to restore some of the spurfowl's damaged habitat.

Breeding areas
Acacia woodland similar to that in which the Djibouti francolin is occasionally seen