Gray Partridge
Perdix perdix
Rotund chickenlike bird with salmon-colored face and thick rusty streaks on sides. Look for dark belly patch, which is obvious on male but reduced or lacking on female. In flight, look for bright orangey tail. Widespread and fairly common throughout much of Europe and central Asia, although populations declining in many areas. Introduced and well-established in North America, primarily in the west but also locally to eastern Canada. Look for flocks on the ground in open areas, especially agricultural fields and edges. Shy and inconspicuous; can be difficult to spot.
Identification
The grey partridge is a rotund bird, brown-backed, with grey flanks and chest. The belly is white, usually marked with a large chestnut-brown horse-shoe mark in males, and also in many females. Hens lay up to twenty eggs in a ground nest. The nest is usually in the margin of a cereal field, most commonly winter wheat.<p>Measurements:<p>The only major and constant difference between the sexes is the so-called cross of Lorraine on the tertiary coverts of females—these being marked with two transverse bars, as opposed to the one in males. These are present after around 16 weeks of age when the birds have moulted into adult plumage. Young grey partridges are mostly yellow-brown and lack the distinctive face and underpart markings. The song is a harsh, high-pitched kieerr-ik, and when disturbed, like most of the gamebirds, it flies a short distance on rounded wings, often calling rick rick rick as it rises.<p>They are a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take insects as an essential protein supply. During the first 10 days of life, the young can only digest insects. The parents lead their chicks to the edges of cereal fields, where they can forage for insects.
Taxonomy
Genus: Perdix; Family: Phasianidae; Order: Galliformes.
- Scientific name
- Perdix perdix
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Perdix
Range and habitat
Widespread and common throughout much of its range, the grey partridge is evaluated as "of Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, it has suffered a serious decline in the UK, and in 2015 appeared on the "Birds of Conservation Concern" Red List. This partridge breeds on farmland across most of Europe and across the western Palearctic as far as southwestern Siberia and has been introduced widely into Canada, United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. A popular gamebird in vast areas of North America, it is commonly known as "Hungarian partridge" or just "hun". They are also a non-migratory terrestrial species, and form flocks in numbers of up to 30 outside of the breeding season.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Azure Tit
Cyanistes cyanus
Frosty, pale bundle of joy. Nominate northern population is white with a shadowy black outlining of the cheek, bright blue-and-white striped wings, and a clean white breast. Central Asian and Central Chinese birds have a bright yellow patch on the breast. Prefers open wooded or shrubby areas, often in proximity to willow, birch, and various conifers. More common in open habitats in northern range. Forages actively, often within dense foliage, and can be surprisingly difficult to see well. Gives various high-pitched calls, including chips, trills, and rattles. Song is variable, and includes high whistles followed by a rattling stutter, as well as a series of cheery, repetitive two-note calls.
Blue-rumped Pitta
Hydrornis soror
Shy, earthen-toned groundbird with a rotund, barrel-chested appearance. Both sexes are brown overall with a mossy green back and electric powder-blue nape; the female is much duller than the male, with less extensive blue and green on the upperparts. Face is warm gray-brown--paler than the dirt-brown underparts. Otherwise similar Blue-naped Pitta has no blue on the crown, no blue rump, and a browner face without gray tones. Song is a simple, barbet-like series of widely-spaced “choo” notes.
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia
Astrapia mayeri
A long-tailed bird of upper montane forest. The male has an iridescent green head and bib with a black chest band bordered with a thin gold stripe. Note the outlandishly long, white tail streamers. Female is blackish with barring on the belly and some iridescence on the head. Mainly eats fruit. Similar to Stephanie’s Astrapia, but Ribbon-tailed usually occurs at higher elevations. The female Ribbon-tailed has iridescence on the head and the male’s tail is white rather than black. Voice, excited, pulsing rasps.
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