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Grey Partridge

Perdix perdix

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernOmnivoreGrasslandScrapeLarge · 405 g
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 1
Photo: TRinaud · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 2
Photo: TRinaud · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 3
Photo: DOD · Public domain
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 4
Photo: allan5519 · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 5
Photo: Mikael Nyman · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 6
Photo: Joe crutwell · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 7
Photo: TRinaud · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 8
Photo: TRinaud · CC BY 4.0
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 9
Photo: DOD · Public domain
Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix), photo 10
Photo: Ómar Runólfsson · CC BY 2.0

What the Grey Partridge sounds like

Sonogram of the Grey Partridge: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Linus Lindkvist · Call · Stakagården, Tranemo Municipality, Västra Götalands län, Sweden · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Grey Partridge: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call, song, social calls · Carolles, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Grey Partridge: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Mikko Heikkinen · Song · Kaskimaa (near Espoo), Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland · CC BY 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The grey partridge is a rotund bird, brown-backed, with grey flanks and chest. The belly is white, usually marked with a large chestnut-brown horse-shoe mark in males, and also in many females. Hens lay up to twenty eggs in a ground nest. The nest is usually in the margin of a cereal field, most commonly winter wheat. Measurements: Length: 29–31 cm (11–12 in) Wingspan: 45–48 cm (18–19 in) Weight (P. p. perdix): 320–455 g (11.3–16.0 oz) Weight (P. p.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Grey Partridge

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Grey Partridge

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 47 countries with regular records, and 3 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Sweden United Kingdom France Canada Belgium United States Netherlands Finland Germany Ukraine Czechia Denmark Austria Poland Bulgaria Russia Estonia Spain Belarus Lithuania Hungary Ireland Norway Greece Italy Slovakia Romania Serbia Türkiye Latvia North Macedonia Luxembourg Kazakhstan Croatia Kosovo Switzerland Armenia Iran Moldova Slovenia Isle of Man Azerbaijan Andorra Bosnia & Herzegovina Georgia Guernsey Montenegro

Recorded as a rare visitor in Portugal, China, Albania.

About the Grey Partridge

The grey partridge is a bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name is the Latin for "partridge".

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Tibetan Partridge (Perdix hodgsoniae) Tibetan PartridgePerdix hodgsoniaeSomewhat different in appearance from the other Perdix species such as the grey and Daurian partridges this 28–31 cm long partridge has the brown back, blackish belly patch and chestnut flanks of its relatives, but has a striking black and white face pattern, which contrasts with the rufous collar. Daurian Partridge (Perdix dauurica) Daurian PartridgePerdix dauuricaIt is a rotund bird measuring roughly 28–30 cm (11–12 in) long.

Side by side: Grey Partridge vs Ruffed Grouse

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