See text Francolinus Pternistis is a genus of galliform birds formerly classified in the spurfowl group of the partridge subfamily of the pheasant family.

Spurfowls subsist almost entirely on roots, beans of leguminous shrubs and trees, tubers, and seeds, and feasting opportunistically on termites, ants, locusts, flowers, and fruit.

Important predators are jackals, caracals, servals, and birds of prey, as well as herons and marabou storks.

[3] The type species was designated by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841 as the Cape spurfowl (Pternistis capensis).

[9] This recommendation was adopted in 2020 by Frank Gill and colleagues in the online list of world birds that they maintain on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC).