Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

Other Names (World)
Red-legged Partridge, French Partridge

Family
Phasianidae (Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse)

Size
32 - 34 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Open country, farmland and lowland heaths.

Range (Guide)

Andorra (B) (NB), France (B) (NB), Germany (B), Italy (B) (NB), Portugal (B) (NB), Spain (B) (NB).

Vagrant to Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland.

Introduced to Algeria (B), Greece, Ireland (B), New Zealand (B), United Kingdom (B) (NB).

Population
Estimated population is 6,000,000 - 14,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Seeds, roots and leaves. Some insects.

Voice
A harsh, 'kchoo kchoo-kchoo kchoo' repeated over and over.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (332)...)

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) [XC837483]
by Alexandre Renaudier from Ryedale District (near Helperthorpe), North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom (call)

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) [XC350653]
by Esperanza Poveda from espartinas, sevilla, andaluc\u00eda, Spain (flight call)

Nest
A shallow depression on the ground, lined with grass, protected by low vegetation.

Eggs (Guide)
9 - 16; pale buffish with reddish-brown spots and blotches; pyriform. Incubation: 23 - 24 days; usually by both sexes.

Subspecies
Previously placed in superspecies with Chukar (Alectoris chukar), Philby's Partridge (Alectoris philbyi) and Barbary Partridge (Alectoris barbara) but now considered to be more distant from the reconstituted superspecies of Przevalski's Partridge (Alectoris magna), Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca), Chukar (Alectoris chukar) and Philby's Partridge (Alectoris philbyi). Population of Corsica has been separated in subspecies corsa, but usually included in rufa. Subspecies australis described from Gran Canaria (Canary Is), where species is introduced.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

rufa (Linnaeus, 1758) - France, north-western Italy, Elba and Corsica.
hispanica (Seoane, 1894) - Northern and western Iberian Peninsula.
intercedens (Brehm, AE, 1857) - Eastern and southern Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Is.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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