The Djibouti francolin is a spurfowl that lives in the remaining highland forests of Djibouti. Its belly feathers have a pale streak, and males have two spurs on each leg.
The belly feathers have a pale streak that narrows in the middle and widens into a teardrop near the tip. Males have two leg spurs; females do not.
Djibouti Spurfowl inhabit mountain forest in Djibouti. In Day Forest they move quickly through low vegetation, call loudly, eat plants and can fly across a canyon.
A paper published in 2020 describes sightings in Day Forest on 17–20 February 2016. On the morning of the 18th, a local villager guided a walk upslope. The first bird was heard at 07:40, and another was seen clearly just after 08:00.
At 09:00 a bird emerged while feeding among dense Rumex plants. Minutes later it flew across the canyon and disappeared beneath a cliff edge. Running, feeding in low plants and crossing a valley all formed part of that morning’s observations.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2016 field visit found many signs of cattle and camel grazing near spurfowl sightings. The authors suggested that less accessible wadis and crevices may provide wildlife refuges. Forest, understorey and the reach of grazing are therefore relevant to conservation planning.