The grey-necked rockfowl (Picathartes oreas) is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae with a long neck and tail.

The head is nearly featherless, with the exposed skin being powder blue on the forehead and upper mandible and carmine on the hindcrown.

The bird's cheeks and eyes are covered in a large, circular black patch that, though narrow, connects and divides the carmine and powder blue skin at the peak of the crown.

Rockfowl move through the forest mainly through a series of hops and bounds, or short flights in low vegetation.

These nests are constructed out of mud and are formed into a deep cup that is built on rock surfaces, typically in caves or on cliffs.

Though the birds breed in colonies, infanticide exists in this species, with rockfowl attempting to kill the young of other pairs.

[10] Additionally, it has been suggested, though not generally accepted, that the two rockfowl represent the remnants of an ancient bird order.

[3] Recent DNA analysis has shown that Picathartidae and its closest relatives, southern Africa's rockjumpers and south-east Asia's rail-babbler, form a clade.

[11] The analysis suggests that the rockfowl split from the common ancestor of their clade 44 million years ago.

[12][13][14] Rockfowl is a reference to the species' habit of building mud nests on rock surfaces and caves.

[16] The adult's head is largely featherless, and the skin on the forehead and forecrown as well as the upper mandible of the beak behind the bird's nostril is a powder blue.

[19] The nestling is born nearly featherless except for tiny primary quills and a fine down along its spine, humerus, forearm, and femur.

[3][9] The grey-necked rockfowl's total range covers approximately 314,000 square kilometres (121,000 sq mi).

[21] The grey-necked rockfowl prefers rugged terrain in these forests covered in large boulders, caves, and gorges.

[16] The understory of its forests has sparse undergrowth or open spaces but is covered in mosses, ferns, lianas, and epiphytes.

[17] The rockfowl's habitat is normally found between 450 and 2,100 metres (1,480 and 6,890 ft) above sea level, though it is lower in elevation on Bioko.

[23] It is capable of living near human activity, and one breeding site in Cameroon was located within 30 metres (98 ft) of a maize plot.

[16] This and other recent observations suggest that the rockfowl has greater tolerance for degraded habitat than previously thought.

[23] When this species is suspicious, it raises the small crown on its head and the ruff on its neck while uttering a muffled groan.

[26] This species forages in the early morning or late afternoon either alone or in small groups in leaf litter and on dead tree trunks.

[27] The grey-necked rockfowl feeds on a diverse range of invertebrates and small vertebrates, though plant matter does constitute a major part of its diet.

[23] Small lizards, frogs, snails, and slugs are also eaten, as are crabs from the genus Potamon, fruits, flower buds, mosses, and leaves.

[23] Nests need to be built under an overhang to protect it from water, and the rock surface normally slopes forward slightly.

[29] The second-hatched nestling often fails to gain weight and dies, and there is evidence suggesting that the adults cannibalize the remains.

[30] For the first ten days after hatching, one adult rockfowl stays and guards the nestlings while the other collects food; despite this, nests have been destroyed by chimpanzees and drills.

[34] British conservationist and author Gerald Durrell made this species a target on two of his trips to Cameroon, which he describes in The Bafut Beagles and A Zoo in My Luggage.

[36] The grey-necked rockfowl is considered to be vulnerable due to habitat destruction, its isolated populations, collection of adults, predation, and a low breeding success rate.

[21] Due to the highly specialized requirements for its habitat, its population is very fragmented, and the species is believed to be naturally rare.

[34] There is a risk that it will be negatively affected by ecotourism due to disturbances in its daily routine if proper viewing procedures are not followed.

[3] Additionally, there seems to be little habitat destruction in Gabon and on Bioko as the locations in these places in which the rockfowl lives is believed to be too inaccessible for future human development.