The grey partridge (Perdix perdix), also known as the gray-legged partridge,[2]English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name is the Latin for "partridge", and is itself derived from Ancient Greekperdix.[3]
Uncommon grey partridge in Alberta, Canada[4]Grey partridge on 1957 postage stamp of the Soviet UnionEgg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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.
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.
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.
Distributionedit
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.
Status and conservationedit
Though common and not threatened, it appears to be declining in numbers in some areas of intensive cultivation such as the United Kingdom, probably due to a loss of breeding habitat and insecticides harming insect numbers, an important food source for the species. Their numbers have fallen in these areas by as much as 85% in the last 25 years. Efforts are being made in the United Kingdom by organizations such as the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust to halt this decline by creating conservation headlands.
In 1995, it was nominated a Biodiversity action plan (BAP) species. In Ireland, it is now virtually confined to the Lough Boora reserve in County Offaly where a recent conservation project has succeeded in boosting its numbers to around 900, raising hopes that it may be reintroduced to the rest of Ireland.[8]
P. p. robusta (Homeyer and Tancré, 1883) – southeastern grey partridge, found from the Ural Mountains to southwestern Siberia and northwestern China
P. p. sphagnetorum (Altum, 1894) – found in the moors of the northern part of the Netherlands and northwest Germany
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2016). "Perdix perdix". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22678911A85929015. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678911A85929015.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Hunter Adair (2000). A Guide to the Countryside: Wild Animals and Birds. Abbey Press. ISBN978-1-902756-04-2. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 297. ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
Gray Partridge Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Feathers of Grey partridge (Perdix perdix) 2018-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
February 15, 2024
grey, partridge, south, asian, species, grey, francolin, grey, partridge, perdix, perdix, also, known, gray, legged, partridge, english, partridge, hungarian, partridge, gamebird, pheasant, family, phasianidae, order, galliformes, gallinaceous, birds, scientif. For the South Asian species see Grey francolin The grey partridge Perdix perdix also known as the gray legged partridge 2 English partridge Hungarian partridge or hun is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes gallinaceous birds The scientific name is the Latin for partridge and is itself derived from Ancient Greek perdix 3 Grey partridgeConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder GalliformesFamily PhasianidaeGenus PerdixSpecies P perdixBinomial namePerdix perdix Linnaeus 1758 Subspecies8 see textRange of P perdix Native range Introduced rangeSynonymsTetrao perdix Linnaeus 1758 Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution 3 Status and conservation 4 Subspecies 5 References 6 External linksDescription edit nbsp Uncommon grey partridge in Alberta Canada 4 nbsp Grey partridge on 1957 postage stamp of the Soviet Union nbsp Egg Collection Museum WiesbadenThe 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 Measurements 5 Length 11 8 13 0 in 30 33 cm Weight 13 6 17 6 oz 390 500 g Wingspan 20 9 22 1 in 53 56 cm 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 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 Distribution editWidespread 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 6 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 7 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 Status and conservation editThough common and not threatened it appears to be declining in numbers in some areas of intensive cultivation such as the United Kingdom probably due to a loss of breeding habitat and insecticides harming insect numbers an important food source for the species Their numbers have fallen in these areas by as much as 85 in the last 25 years Efforts are being made in the United Kingdom by organizations such as the Game amp Wildlife Conservation Trust to halt this decline by creating conservation headlands In 1995 it was nominated a Biodiversity action plan BAP species In Ireland it is now virtually confined to the Lough Boora reserve in County Offaly where a recent conservation project has succeeded in boosting its numbers to around 900 raising hopes that it may be reintroduced to the rest of Ireland 8 Subspecies editThere are eight recognized subspecies P p armoricana Hartert 1917 found locally in FranceP p canescens Burturlin 1906 southern grey partridge found from Turkey east to the South Caucasus and northwest IranP p hispaniensis Reichenow 1892 Iberian partridge found from central Pyrenees to northeast Portugal nbsp Perdix perdix hispaniensis MHNTP p italica Hartert 1917 Italian grey partridge supposedly extinct now reintroduced 9 P p lucida Altum 1894 eastern grey partridge found from Finland east to Ural Mountains and south to Black Sea and northern CaucasusP p perdix Linnaeus 1758 nominate found in the British Isles and southern Scandinavia to Italy and the BalkansP p robusta Homeyer and Tancre 1883 southeastern grey partridge found from the Ural Mountains to southwestern Siberia and northwestern ChinaP p sphagnetorum Altum 1894 found in the moors of the northern part of the Netherlands and northwest GermanyReferences edit BirdLife International 2016 Perdix perdix IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22678911A85929015 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22678911A85929015 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Hunter Adair 2000 A Guide to the Countryside Wild Animals and Birds Abbey Press ISBN 978 1 902756 04 2 Retrieved 16 November 2021 Jobling James A 2010 The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names London Christopher Helm p 297 ISBN 978 1 4081 2501 4 Sibley David Allen 2003 The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America A Chanticleer Press ed Knopf p 122 ISBN 0 679 45121 8 Gray Partridge Identification All About Birds Cornell Lab of Ornithology www allaboutbirds org Retrieved 2020 09 26 BoCC4 Red List PDF Birds of Conservation Concern Retrieved 2015 12 25 Long John L 1981 Introduced Birds of the World Agricultural Protection Board of Western Australia pp 21 493 Lee George 5 September 2019 Grey Partridge population on the increase RTE Retrieved 5 September 2020 Welcome back Perdix perdix italica Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale Retrieved 2021 12 13 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Perdix perdix BirdLife species factsheet for Perdix perdix Game amp Wildlife Conservation Trust Grey Partridge Grey partridge media Internet Bird Collection Gray Partridge Species Account Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ageing and sexing PDF 2 6 MB by Javier Blasco Zumeta amp Gerd Michael Heinze Feathers of Grey partridge Perdix perdix Archived 2018 03 27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Grey partridge amp oldid 1185509478, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
