Abstract
The crested francolin complex comprises geographically variable populations assigned to three African species, Ortygornis grantii, O. rovuma and O. sephaena. We examined phenotypic differentiation across Africa using 272 photographic records, museum specimens and mitochondrial data. Seven plumage characters were scored, with repeatability assessed by blind intra-observer rescoring of 61 stratified records. Breast markings, gorget-line position, abdominal feather structure and abdominal colour were retained for formal statistical inference. Gower ordination showed geographic structuring among eight historical forms, and PERMANOVA confirmed this pattern (R² = 0.717), although morphospace overlap persisted. Northeastern/eastern populations were predominantly high-gorget, whereas southern populations were mainly low-gorget, with intermediate combinations in eastern contact areas. Ugandan ochrogaster were high-gorget with a predominantly weak or fine abdominal vermiculation, differing strongly from neighbouring grantii. The form spilogaster showed weaker centroid separation from grantii than from rovuma, although mean Gower dissimilarities were similar. Mitochondrial divergence was lower between spilogaster and grantii (1.4%) than between spilogaster and rovuma (3.8%), supporting qualified placement with O. grantii. Southern O. sephaena forms also showed phenotypic structure despite shallow mitochondrial divergence. Overall, the results support geographically structured phenotypes and selected subspecific units within the established three-species framework. Several transitions remained clinal or overlapping rather than sharply bounded.