Grey Partridge

Overview

The grey partridge (Perdix perdix) is a rotund, seed-eating bird in the pheasant family that breeds across farmland in the western Palearctic. It is a non-migratory terrestrial species that forms flocks outside the breeding season, though it has experienced significant population declines in areas of intensive cultivation like the United Kingdom.

Identification

• Brown-backed with grey flanks and a white belly, often featuring a large chestnut-brown horse-shoe mark in males.
• Measures 29–31 cm in length with a wingspan of 45–48 cm; males and females are similar in size and plumage, though females may have a smaller belly patch.
• Song is a harsh, high-pitched kieerr-ik, and disturbed birds fly short distances on rounded wings while calling rick rick rick.
• Young birds are mostly yellow-brown and lack the distinctive face and underpart markings of adults.

Habitat

This species breeds on farmland across most of Europe and the western Palearctic, extending as far as south-western Siberia. In Ireland, it is now virtually confined to the Lough Boora reserve in County Offaly. It has also been introduced as a gamebird into North America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Diet

A seed-eating species, the grey partridge relies heavily on insects as an essential protein supply for its young, which can only digest insects during the first 10 days of life. Parents lead their chicks to the edges of cereal fields to forage for these insects.

Did you know?

In North America, where it is a popular gamebird, it is often known as the 'Hungarian partridge' or simply 'hun'.