# 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.

- **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.

## About

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 .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b3415f8b-72cd-4dc6-a420-95fb4ee33250
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/831
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdix perdix
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/340760633/medium.jpeg (Christoph Moning, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

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