Daurian Partridge
Perdix dauurica
A stout terrestrial bird of open areas with ample grassy or shrubby cover. Moves into agricultural fields in winter to forage on waste grain. Gray-brown overall, with large dark blotch on the belly and orange face and breast, much like similar Gray Partridge, its westerly counterpart. Usually found in medium-sized groups.
Identification
It is a rotund bird measuring roughly 28–30 cm (11–12 in) long. In the fall, males weigh about 200–340 grams (7.1–12.0 oz) and 290–330 grams (10–12 oz) for females. Both sexes have a sandy-orange face and long feathers under the beak, forming a 'beard'. The rest of the head and underparts are pale slate-grey with a buff line on the chest and black belly patch. The female has a smaller belly patch and is slightly duller than the male. Their song sounds like a higher-pitched, sped-up version of the grey partridge's; a shrill, grating kieerr-ik!<p>There are multiple subspecies, differing mainly in the plumage becoming darker and more rufous further east.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Perdix dauurica
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1811)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Perdix
Range and habitat
This partridge breeds generally on open grassland or steppe including farmland across much of temperate East Asia from Kyrgyzstan and extending eastward to China and Mongolia. It is a non-migratory terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season in Autumn and Winter. In parts of its range, it overlaps with the very similar and closely related grey partridge, with which it forms a superspecies. They inhabit open country, ideally with some adjacent bushes or open woodland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Daurian partridges forage and move most actively during morning/evening hours and rest at mid-day, depending on weather.<p>Females usually lay around the second to third week of May. The nest is lined with grasses and twigs on the ground under a bush or in tall grass, and the typical clutch size is somewhere around 13–20 olive-brown eggs. Chicks are a pale yellow-brown dappled with shades of dark brown and rufous.<p>This is a seed-eating species, but the chicks in particular consume insects as an essential protein supply. They are capable of flying short distances around 2 weeks of age. When disturbed, it springs upward with whirring wings in a rapid, explosive manner, then it flies off to nearby cover, all while sounding off an alarmed staccato hek-hek-hek!
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Sulphur-bellied Tyrant-Manakin
Neopelma sulphureiventer
Large, tan manakin. Longer-tailed with a more upright posture than other smaller manakins. Forages singly or in pairs in the low midstory of dense, viny secondary forest, especially along rivers; in areas with bamboos, largely restricted to bamboo patches. Call is distinctive nasal laughing.
Crimson Topaz
Topaza pella
Large, distinctive hummingbird. Superb male is mostly red and essentially unmistakable; female best told by large size and mostly green plumage with orange outer tail feathers. Found in lowland forest, usually along blackwater creeks in forests with sandy soils. Nests on low vegetation overhanging water. Very noisy and aggressive in territorial defense; loud, smacking calls are often heard before the birds are seen.
Flammulated Flycatcher
Ramphotrigon flammulatum
Medium-sized flycatcher of thorn forest and brushy woodland in tropical lowlands and foothills of west Mexico. Mostly sluggish and easily overlooked unless singing; tends to stay within cover rather than coming out into open areas. Resembles a Myiarchus flycatcher (especially Dusky-capped), but note the pale spectacles, faint dusky streaks on the breast (or flammulations ) and extensive cinnamon edging to the wing feathers.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.