• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Pternistis camerunensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Francolinus.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(ii)	B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v); C2a(i,ii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Endangered	B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v)
2016	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v); C2a(ii)
2012	Endangered	B1ab(i,ii,iii,v);C2a(ii)
2008	Endangered	B1a+b(i,ii,iii,v); C2a(ii)
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	272 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	272 km2
Number of locations	1-3	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	700-1500 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2000
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	2010-2025
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-9%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.22 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Although the species was described as 'common' during fieldwork in 1984, recent sightings have been irregular and are usually of single pairs (J. Acworth in litt. 1999) and the species is judged to have been scarce since 1996 at least (F. Njie in litt. 2006). More recent surveys have failed to record a single individual (Bayly and Motombe 2004, Djomo et al. 2014, Sedláček et al. 2015), including the absence of the species in previously favoured areas on the eastern side of the mountain (Mayaka et al. 2021). The population has not been quantified but is suspected to be 1,000-3,000 individuals, which equates to 725-1,450 mature individuals, rounded here to 700-1,500 mature individuals.

Trend justification: During survey work in 1984, it was found to be common. However, recent sightings have been irregular and are usually of single pairs (J. Acworth in litt. 1999) and the species is judged to have been scarce since 1996 at least (F. Njie in litt. 2006). More recent surveys have failed to record a single individual (Bayly and Motombe 2004, Djomo et al. 2014, Sedláček et al. 2015), including the absence of the species in previously favoured areas on the eastern side of the mountain (Mayaka et al. 2021). These observations, coupled with continuing pressures from habitat degradation and hunting, infers the species is declining, but the rate is currently unquantified. Deforestation rates within the range have been low over the past three generations (15.66 years), amounting to <10% (Global Forest Watch 2021). Population declines are therefore suspected to not exceed 10% over three generations.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Cameroon	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cameroon	Mount Cameroon and Mokoko-Onge

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	major	resident
Altitude	850 - 2100 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Geological events	Volcanoes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Trend Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mount Cameroon Spurfowl Pternistis camerunensis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mount-cameroon-spurfowl-pternistis-camerunensis on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.