# Red-legged Partridge

*Alectoris rufa*

Unlike many gamebirds, the Red-legged Partridge prefers to outrun predators on its sturdy pink legs rather than taking to the sky.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Galliformes › Phasianidae › Alectoris
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Open dry grasslands, agricultural farmland, and Mediterranean-style scrubland.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous, focusing on seeds, roots, and grasses, while chicks rely heavily on insects.
- **Range:** Spain, Portugal, France, United Kingdom, Italy
- **Size:** 32-34 cm in length with a 45-50 cm wingspan.
- **Lifespan:** 2-5 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Changes in farming practices, pesticide use, and hybridization with the Chukar partridge.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. If you spot a covey, stay still and observe from a distance. Avoid chasing or flushing the birds, as unnecessary flight consumes vital energy reserves. If you find a nest on the ground, do not disturb the eggs or the parent.

## About

The red-legged partridge ( Alectoris rufa ) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French partridge , to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge. The genus name is from Ancient Greek alektoris a farmyard chicken, and rufa is Latin for red or rufous.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/a17decd0-2ace-4111-ab92-ab981fa0c613
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/867
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alectoris rufa
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/200447159/medium.jpeg (Jerry Lanfear, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.