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(Many Paths)
An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America
 
 
 
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Gray Partridge
Perdix perdix
 
 
by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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.

 
 
 
 
Habitat
Grasslands
 
Food
Seeds
 
Nest
Ground
 
Behavior
Ground Forager
 
Conservation
Low Concern

Cool Facts

  • Gray Partridge hens lay a lot of eggs. Females can lay up to 22 eggs—among 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
Grasslands

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.

 

 


Food
Seeds

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.

 


Nest
Ground

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:
10-22 eggs
Number of Broods: 1 brood
Egg Length: 1.3-1.5 in (3.2-3.7 cm)
Egg Width:
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.
Behavior
Ground Forager

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 don’t 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.

Conservation
Low Concern

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 1966–2015, 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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