BTO BirdFacts | Grey Partridge

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Page updated:16-January-2013

	Order: Galliformes	Family: Phasianidae
	BTO Codes: P., GREPA	EURING No: 3670
	Number in Britain: 73 thousand pairs (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: RED
	European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Vulnerable
	Global: (Details)
Links to: Images Videos Sound

Status in UK: (AC2) Resident/Introduced Breeder
Subspecies: perdix recorded in Britain (of 8 subsp. in the world)
.
Length: 30 cm	Wingspan: 46 cm	Weight: M/F: 390 g

Scientific name from:	Gr.: perdix=a partridge
World Distribution:	Europe, n&c Asia, INTRODUCED: s Canada & n US

Habitat:	Farmland, steppe, wood edge
Diet:	Leaves (grass, cereals, clover), weed seeds, cereal grain, chicks fed on insects (esp in first 2 weeks)
TitBit:	The Partridge has the largest clutch of any bird species, in Britain 14-15 eggs are typical, while in northern Finland the average clutch is as many as 19 eggs!

British Population Size:

Summer: 70 to 75 thousand pairs in 2000 Baker, H. et al. (2006) British Birds 99:25-44

First Record: Recorded in Medieval times Bircham, P. 2007. A history of ornithology, Collins. [805 BIR]

[Fossil evidence from Devensian (last) glaciation, 10-120,000 yr ago]

Conservation Status: RED because Recent Breeding Population Decline, Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 RED Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 RED Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern: perdix RED (Recent Decline)

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

Most frequent in: Arable Farmland

Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:

European Population Size:

Summer: 1 to 2.3 million pairs (Trend in Numbers) Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WBD(I*&II*&III*), Bern(III)

Survey Results:	Results from BirdTrack
	Results from the Winter Farmland Bird Survey

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 36 x 27 mm	Egg Weight: 14.1 g (of which 10 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 8
Clutch Size: 13 - 16 eggs
Incubation: 23- 25 days		by the: Female
Fledging: 14 - 16days		as: Precocial, downy

First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1
See trends in Breeding Productivity

Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.550
Juvenile Survival: 0.220 (to age . )

Age at First Breeding: 1 year	Typical Lifespan: 3 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 5 years 2 months 13 days (set in 1978)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics
Ring Size: F
Wing Length	Adult:	159.7 ± 4.5 Range 150.0 - 173.0 mm, (N = 29)
	Juvenile:	159.0 ± 3.7 Range 150.0 - 166.0 mm, (N = 84)
	Male:	Insufficient Data
	Female:	Insufficient Data

Weight	Adult:	Insufficient Data
	Juvenile:	Insufficient Data
	Male:	Insufficient Data
	Female:	Insufficient Data
	Seasonal:	Summer 433.3 ± 61.23 (N = 12) Autumn 395.7 ± 15.45 (N = 15) Winter 415.3 ± 27.09 (N = 82)
	Source:	British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names


Gaelic: Cearc-thomain	Welsh: Petrisen
Danish: Agerhøne	Dutch: Patrijs
Finnish: Peltopyy	French: Perdrix grise
German: Rebhuhn	Hungarian: Fogoly
Icelandic: Akurhæna	Irish: Patraisc
Italian: Starna	Norwegian: Rapphøne
Polish: Kuropatwa zwyczajna	Portuguese: Perdiz-cinzenta
Spanish: Perdiz pardilla	Swedish: Rapphöna

Local Names:English Partridge
Collective Noun:Covey

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Potts, G.R. 1986 The partridge: pesticides, predation and conservation Collins, London [598.544 POT]
Potts, G.R. 2012 Partridges Collins, London [598.544 POT]
Johnsgard, P.A. 1988 The Quails, Partridges, and Francolins of the world Oxford University Press [598.544 JON]

See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Details from the Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

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