BASIC DESCRIPTION
The Gray Partridge is a portly game bird with a rusty face, tail,
streaks down the sides, and a dark belly patch. It walks through
agricultural fields and grasslands feasting on seeds. Small groups
called coveys forage together year-round and explode into a scratchy,
squawking flight when disturbed even at a considerable distance.
Often called Hungarian partridge or just Huns
by hunters, these birds were introduced to North America from Europe
in the early 1900s.
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Habitat
Grasslands
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Food
Seeds
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Nest
Ground
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Behavior
Ground Forager
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Conservation
Low Concern
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Cool Facts
- Gray Partridge hens lay a lot of eggs. Females can lay up to
22 eggsamong the most of any bird species.
- Gray Partridges have short lives and high mortality rates. In
a Montana study, for example, life expectancy was around 1.8 years
for adults and the maximum age was 4 years.
Find This Bird
Gray Partridges blend in extremely well in agricultural fields
and grasslands. Even so, they don't let you get too close before
flushing, sometimes taking flight when you are about 60 feet away,
while most quails don't flush until under foot. To see them before
they detect you, take a slow walk through an agricultural field
with wheat or corn stubble and stop every so often to scan in between
the rows. Start your search at dawn or dusk when they are actively
foraging and easier to see. Because they are relatively uncommon
in North America you will likely need to search through several
agricultural fields before finding a covey.
Habitat
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Grasslands
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Gray Partridges use agricultural fields with hedgerows and grasslands
year-round. In the winter when snow cover is heavy, they also forage
in adjacent wooded areas.
Gray Partridges primarily eat seeds and greens that they pick from
the ground. Their diet includes seeds from wheat, barley, oats,
corn, sunflower, foxtail, ragweed, and Russian thistle. Young partridges
eat insects during the first few weeks after hatching. Adults also
take insects during the summer.
Gray Partridges nest on the ground either in fields or along hedgerows
and roadsides.
NEST DESCRIPTION
Female Gray Partridges make a scrape or shallow depression on the
ground and line it with grasses or crop stalks.
NESTING FACTS
Clutch Size:
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10-22 eggs |
Number of Broods: |
1 brood |
Egg Length: |
1.3-1.5 in (3.2-3.7 cm) |
Egg Width:
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1.0-1.1 in (2.6-2.8 cm) |
Incubation Period: |
21-26 days |
Egg Description: |
Unmarked buff, brown, or olive. |
Condition at Hatching: |
Eyes open and covered in down; able to leave
the nest soon after hatching. |
Groups or coveys made up of adults and their offspring walk or
run through fields and grasslands searching for seeds. They forage
more frequently at dawn and dusk and rest in open cover or in crop
stubble during the day. Gray Partridges are rather skittish birds,
bursting into flight even when the disturbance is 60 feet away,
unlike many other game birds that dont flush until they are
underfoot. When disturbed they explode into flight with rapid wingbeats,
flying short distances, low to the ground. Gray Partridges are tolerant
of their covey mates, but males may ruffle their neck feathers,
stick out their breast, and flick their tail if a member of a different
covey comes near, especially if they come too close to their mate.
Gray Partridges form monogamous bonds typically with a member of
a different covey. When coveys come together during courtship, males
and females are more aggressive and may fight or chase other birds.
Once pairs form, the female initiates courtship by bowing to the
male with up-and-down head movements and by rubbing her neck against
his. Gray Partridges have short lifespans and are frequently eaten
by skunks, raccoons, foxes, Great Horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks,
Prairie Falcons, Northern Harriers, and domestic cats and dogs.
Gray Partridges are common throughout their native range, but are
uncommon in North America. According to the North American Breeding
Bird Survey populations declined by nearly 2% per year from 19662015,
resulting in a cumulative decline of 60%. However, Gray Partridges
are hard to detect on surveys, meaning that these population trend
estimates may not be accurate. Partners in Flight estimates the
global breeding population at 13 million (including the species
native range in Eurasia). The species rates an 8 out of 20 on the
Continental Concern Score, which means it is not on the Partners
in Flight Watch List and is a species of low conservation concern.
Since the 1950s, populations that were once widespread in Indiana,
Michigan, and Ohio have been lost and populations in Nova Scotia,
Ontario, and New York have declined. Causes for these declines are
not known, but may include predation, severe weather, and agricultural
intensification. In Great Britain for example, Gray Partridge populations
declined when farmers started removing hedgerows and increased pesticide
use. Although hunted throughout its range, it is not as frequently
hunted in North America as other game birds.
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