It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The yellow-necked spurfowl was described in 1867 by the English ornithologist George Robert Gray and given the binomial name Francolinus leucoscepus.

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

[5][6] Two subspecies are recognised:[6] It has been noted that this bird is most active at dawn and dusk.

[7] The yellow-necked spurfowl is not in the threshold for vulnerable species despite the fact that its population (though unquantified) is thought to be in decline (though not at a fast rate).