Gray Partridge
Perdix perdix
In winter, these birds huddle together in tight groups called 'coveys' to conserve warmth and provide more eyes to watch for predators.
- Scientific name
- Perdix perdix
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Galliformes › Phasianidae › Perdix
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Agricultural land, open grasslands, meadows, and hedgerows.
- Diet
- Seeds, cereal grains, and leaves; chicks rely heavily on high-protein insects like beetles and ants.
- Range
- Europe, Western Asia, Canada, United States
- Size
- 28-32 cm in length; 380-450g mass
- Lifespan
- 2-4 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Intensive farming practices, loss of hedgerows, and pesticide use reducing insect availability for hatchlings.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. If encountered, maintain a distance of at least 10 meters to avoid flushing the bird, which wastes its vital energy. During nesting season, keep dogs on leashes in grasslands to protect ground-nests. No medical risk to humans.
The grey partridge ( Perdix perdix ), also known as the 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 .
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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