Alectoris
Encyclopedia
Alectoris, is a genus of partridge
s with representatives in southern Europe
, north Africa
and Arabia, and across Asia
in Pakistan
to Tibet
and western China
. Members of the genus, notably the Chukar
and Red-legged Partridge
, have been introduced to the United States
, Canada
, New Zealand
and Hawaii
. In some countries, such as Great Britain
, hybrids between the two widespread introduced species
are common.
These are non-migratory
bird
s of dry, open and often hilly country. The nest in a scantily lined ground scrape laying up to 20 egg
s. They feed on a wide variety of seeds and some insect
food.
These are rotund birds, typically with a light brown or grey back, grey breast and buff belly. The face is white or whitish with a dark gorget. They have has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, they prefer to run rather than fly, but if necessary will fly a short distance on rounded wings.
A prehistoric species, A. peii, is known from China
. Another one, A. baryosefi, has been described from Early Pleistocene
fossil
s found at El-`Ubeidiya
(Jordan valley
), Israel
.
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
s with representatives in southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, north Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Arabia, and across Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Members of the genus, notably the Chukar
Chukar
The Chukar Partridge or Chukar is a Eurasian upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the Rock Partridge, Philby's Partridge and Przevalski's Partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first...
and Red-legged Partridge
Red-legged Partridge
The Red-legged Partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French Partridge, to distinguish it from the Grey or English Partridge....
, have been introduced to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. In some countries, such as Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, hybrids between the two widespread introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
are common.
These are non-migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of dry, open and often hilly country. The nest in a scantily lined ground scrape laying up to 20 egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s. They feed on a wide variety of seeds and some insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
food.
These are rotund birds, typically with a light brown or grey back, grey breast and buff belly. The face is white or whitish with a dark gorget. They have has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, they prefer to run rather than fly, but if necessary will fly a short distance on rounded wings.
Species in taxonomic order
- Arabian PartridgeArabian PartridgeThe Arabian Partridge is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Also recently introduced to Pakistan via Oman.-References:...
, Alectoris melanocephala - Przevalski's PartridgePrzevalski's PartridgeThe Przevalski's Partridge or Rusty-necklaced Partridge is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found only in China.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
, Alectoris magna - Rock PartridgeRock PartridgeThe Rock Partridge, Alectoris graeca, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.This partridge has its main range in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, and is closely related and very similar to its eastern equivalent, the Chukar...
, Alectoris graeca - Chukar Partridge, Alectoris chukar
- Philby's PartridgePhilby's PartridgePhilby's Partridge , is a relative of the chukar, red-legged partridge and barbary partridges native to southwestern Arabia and northern Yemen. Although similar in appearance to other Alectoris species, Philby's Partridge can be distinguished by its black cheeks and throat.The name commemorates the...
, Alectoris philbyi - Barbary PartridgeBarbary PartridgeThe Barbary Partridge , is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....
, Alectoris barbara - Red-legged PartridgeRed-legged PartridgeThe Red-legged Partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French Partridge, to distinguish it from the Grey or English Partridge....
, Alectoris rufa
A prehistoric species, A. peii, is known from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Another one, A. baryosefi, has been described from Early Pleistocene
Early Pleistocene
Calabrian is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale. ~1.8 Ma.—781,000 years ago ± 5,000 years, a period of ~.The end of the stage is defined by the last magnetic pole reversal and plunge in to an ice age and global drying possibly colder and drier than the late Miocene ...
fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s found at El-`Ubeidiya
El-`Ubeidiya
Tel Ubeidiya , some 3 km south of Lake Tiberias, in the Jordan Rift Valley, Israel, is an archaeological site of the Pleistocene, ca. 1.5 million years ago, preserving traces of the earliest migration of Homo erectus out of Africa...
(Jordan valley
Jordan Valley (Middle East)
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...
), Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.