Partridge

Share Top Five March 18, 2019

Partridges are medium-sized non-migratory birds, with a wide native distribution throughout the Old World, including Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. They are sometimes grouped in the Perdicinae subfamily of the Phasianidae (pheasants, quail, etc.). However, molecular research suggests that partridges are not a distinct taxon within the family Phasianidae, but that some species are closer to the pheasants, while others are closer to the junglefowl,More info:wiki

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#10 Red-legged partridge,More info:nzbirdsonline

Red-legged partridges are not considered to be established in the wild in New Zealand. They are included here because ongoing releases of captive-reared birds mean that they may be seen as free-living birds, which are often confused with the closely-related chukor (Alectoris chukar). Any chukor-like bird seen in the North Island or in lowland areas of the South Island is more likely to be a red-legged partridge.

Identification

The red-legged partridge is a plump, bantam-sized gamebird with a grey-brown body and boldly-patterned head. It has a whitish stripe extending from just above the bill, over the eye to the ear coverts, and a prominent whitish chin patch reaching to the eye. The chin patch is bordered by a black stripe which grades below into a broad spangled black-and-white necklace. The forehead (above the narrow whitish frons) is grey merging into brown on the crown and nape. The belly is pale greyer, and the boldly-marked flanks are grey barred with white, black and chestnut. The bill and eye-ring are bright red, the eye is dark brown, and the legs are dark pink.

Similar species: red-legged partridges differ from chukor in being slightly smaller, browner (cf. grey on the back), having white above the bill (black in chukor), and having a spangled necklace where the chukor has a solid black line surrounding the whitish chin patch. Red-legged partridges also have more chestnut or brown among their flank stripes (these are mainly black-and-white in chukor, forming 8 or more zebra-like stripes).