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Red Spurfowl Recorded Repeatedly in Sandur Hills Since 2008

Red Spurfowl perched on a log in Karnataka, India
Conservation · Population & status

A geographically separated population of red spurfowl (Galloperdix spadicea) has been documented in the Sandur Hills of Karnataka, well away from the species’ better-known forest strongholds in the Western Ghats and other wooded hill tracts of peninsular India. The report, published on 18 August 2026, brings together repeated records from 2008 onward.

Pairs were recorded across four principal localities between about 626 and 953 metres above sea level, as well as in other less accessible forest valleys in the wider hill range. Most records came from camera traps. In every documented instance the birds appeared as a male–female pair; the study did not record solitary birds or larger groups.

The Sandur Hills form an elevated block of dense deciduous forest within an otherwise open, semi-arid landscape. The author suggests that the combination of greater elevation and dense vegetation creates local conditions resembling those in parts of the Western Ghats and may help explain the population’s persistence.

Several occupied valleys lie next to active or abandoned iron-ore mining leases. The report recommends systematic surveys across the hill range to determine the population’s extent more clearly and targeted conservation measures to reduce pressure on the remaining forest habitat.

Sources and image credit

  1. Samad, K. S. A. (2026). Report on a disjunct population of Red Spurfowl Galloperdix spadicea in the Sandur Hills of Ballari District, Karnataka. International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, 8(4).Primary article published 18 August 2026. Repeated records from 2008 onward documented Red Spurfowl across four principal Sandur Hills localities at roughly 626–953 m; most records were from camera traps, all documented instances were male–female pairs, and several occupied forest valleys adjoined active or abandoned iron-ore mining leases.

Image: Red Spurfowl (Galloperdix spadicea) at Barady, Karnataka, India, 17 August 2024. Photo: Haneesh K M / iNaturalist via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0. Representative Karnataka image; not a bird from the Sandur Hills study population. · CC0 1.0 · Source

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