Nahan's francolin

The globally Endangered Nahan’s francolin is one of the jewels in Uganda’s biodiversity crown.  However, this red-legged, white-throated bird is now only found in a handful of forest fragments throughout Uganda and the adjacent Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Survey work has estimated the Ugandan population of Nahan’s francolin at about 23,000 groups. Mabira Forest Reserve in Uganda is identified as an important bird area and is thought to contain approximately 2,500 groups. Government plans to convert a third of the reserve into sugarcane plantations have fortunately recently been dropped.  However, habitat clearance, particularly for conversion to agriculture, and selective and illegal logging continue to occur at Mabira, as it does at many other sites throughout the range of the Nahan’s francolin.

WPA seeks to work alongside local forest non-governmental organisations to develop measures to reduce these threats. Survey work has confirmed the presence of this francolin species in DRC.  Although birds were located, the surrounding habitat was a small and isolated patch of forest, and the long-term viability of the population has been left in some doubt.