White-necked Rockfowl
Picathartes gymnocephalus
Conservation Status
VulnerableAves · Passeriformes · Picathartidae
About
The white-necked rockfowl is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae, with a long neck and tail. Also known as the white-necked picathartes, this passerine is mainly found in rocky forested areas at higher altitudes in West Africa from Guinea to Ghana. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other. The rockfowl typically chooses to live near streams and inselbergs. It has no recognized subspecies, though some believe that it forms a superspecies with the grey-necked rockfowl. The white-necked rockfowl has greyish-black upperparts and white underparts. Its unusually long, dark brown tail is used for balance, and its thighs are muscular. The head is nearly featherless, with the exposed skin being bright yellow except for two large, circular black patches located just behind the eyes. Though the bird is usually silent, some calls are known.
Fun Fact
After hatching, the head's skin is all yellow without the black patches of the adult; these are gained about a week before leaving the nest.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Lives on steep slopes in both primary and mature secondary forests.
Diet
Eats insects, including larval cockroaches, tettigoniid grasshoppers, earwigs, ants from the genera Pachycondyla and Dorylus, click beetles from the genus Psephus, and termites.
Lifespan
To be updated
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance