The genus _Pternistes_ contains the naked-throated Ethiopian Francolins. _P. nudicollis_ of South Africa is brown above with black shaft-stripes, the mantle being greyer, the superciliary stripes and face black, the sides of the neck and lower parts black with white streaks. The female has a grey and rufous chest, the male a pair of sharp spurs. The bare orbits and throat are crimson, the bill and feet orange-red. _P. humboldti_ of East Africa and _P. afer_ (_rubricollis_) of western South Africa resemble the above, but have two pairs of spurs. _P. cranchi_ differs in having the neck, mantle, and under surface {226}mottled with black and white, the breast and abdomen shewing chestnut markings; in the similar _P. boehmi_ the naked throat is yellow. These two species occur west and east of Lake Tanganyika respectively; the female being less black and white above and less chestnut below in the former, while the sexes are alike in the latter. _P. swainsoni_ of South Africa is distinguishable by its rusty abdomen with black and chestnut blotches, the latter colour being absent in the hen; _P. rufipictus_ of East Equatorial Africa has white neck-feathers, margined with brown and black. _P. leucoscepus_ of North-East and the darker _P. infuscatus_ of East Africa exhibit broken stripes of brown and white down the whole body, with yellowish-red orbits and throat; the sexes are alike save for the spurs in the male. In many districts the members of this genus, as well as the Francolins proper, closely akin to them in appearance and habits, are denominated "Pheasants." They haunt grassy places and brushwood, often on hills near water; the coveys feeding in the open on bulbs, seeds, berries, and insects, and roosting upon trees, preferably those that are leafless. Flying little, but running at a great pace, they utter harsh notes in the morning and evening, and lay six or more creamy or pinkish eggs, frequently with chalky spots, in a grass-lined cavity sheltered by coarse herbage.