What is a partridge?

Plump, midsize birds with curved bills, partridges live in a variety of habitats around the world, including
forests, grasslands, and rocky plains.

Despite what you may have heard about pear trees, the 56 partridge species are ground-dwellers, using
their short, sturdy legs and strong claws to dig for food or make nests. These pheasant relatives
generally run quickly, though they will burst into flight if danger looms.

Adults eat seeds, leaves, and invertebrates, while chicks feed mostly on insects. Some species, such as
the gray partridge and the chukar, eat only plants.

For nostalgic TV fans, “partridge” isn’t actually a family. It’s a genus within the family Phasianidae, which
includes partridges, pheasants, turkeys, grouse, francolins, and Old World quail.

Mating and reproduction

All partridges form monogamous pair bonds, though courtship strategies differ among species.

Male chukars, native to North America, Europe, and the Middle East, court females by walking around
them and striking various poses, sometimes with one wing sweeping the ground. In North America and
Europe, gray partridge females initiate courtship, bowing to the male, bobbing their heads, and rubbing
their necks against his.

When it’s time to nest, females will scrape a depression in the ground and line it with plant material,
while males will often stay close by to guard the nest.

Some species, like Europe’s rock partridges and red-legged partridges, occasionally lay two clutches of
eggs in separate nests, possibly as insurance against predation. The male incubates one clutch, while the
female guards the other.

Around 23 days later, the chicks hatch with open eyes, downy feathers, and the ability to run—all vital
defenses against ground predators, such as foxes. Gray partridge chicks, for example, can leave the nest
within hours of hatching. Young can generally fly within 15 days, and they reach their adult weight by
three months of age.
An exception is the crested wood partridge of Southeast Asia, whose chicks stay in the nest and are fed
by their parents for about a week.

Conservation status

Of the 56 species, 37 are considered "of least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature. Even so, 43 species are decreasing in population.

For instance, though gray partridges are listed as of least concern, in Britain, the species plummeted by
91 percent between 1967 and 2010 due to threats such as herbicides and pesticides, which can harm
chicks.

In China’s south-central Sichuan Province, the endangered Sichuan partridge may have as few as a
thousand individuals left in the wild. The forest-dwelling bird has suffered from habitat loss, particularly
due to illegal logging.