Crested Wood Partridge
Encyclopedia
The Crested Partridge also known as the Crested Wood Partridge, Roul-roul, Red-crowned Wood Partridge or Green Wood Partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae
of the order Galliformes
, gallinaceous birds. It is the only member of the genus Rollulus.
This small partridge
is a resident breeder in lowland rainforest
s in south Burma, south Thailand
, Malaysia, Sumatra
and Borneo
. Its nest is a ground scrape lined with leaves, which is concealed under a heap of leaf litter. Five or six white eggs
are incubated for 18 days.
Unusually for a galliform
species, the young are fed bill-to-bill by both parents instead of pecking from the ground, and although precocial, they roost in the nest
while small.
Crested Partridge is a rotund short-tailed bird, 25 cm in length, with the male marginally larger than the female. Both sexes have a scarlet patch of bare skin around the eye and red legs without a spur or hind toe.
The male is metallic green above with glossy dark blue underparts and a brownish wing panel. The head is adorned with a tall red crest, a white forehead spot and black frontal bristles. The female has pea-green body plumage apart from the brown wing coverts
. She has a slate-grey head with the bristles but no spot or crest. The bill
is all-dark. Young birds are duller versions of the adult of the same sex. The song is a mournful whistled si-ul.
The Crested Partridge is usually seen singly or in pairs as it uses its feet to probe the forest floor for fruit
, seed
s and invertebrate
s. When disturbed, it prefers to run
but if necessary it flies a short distance on its rounded wings.
There is some concern about the effect of habitat destruction on this bird, especially with regard to logging. However, it seems to be somewhat more adaptable than other southeast Asia
n pheasants. The Crested Wood Partridge is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES.
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...
of the order Galliformes
Galliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...
, gallinaceous birds. It is the only member of the genus Rollulus.
This small partridge
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...
is a resident breeder in lowland rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s in south Burma, south Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Malaysia, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. Its nest is a ground scrape lined with leaves, which is concealed under a heap of leaf litter. Five or six white eggs
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
are incubated for 18 days.
Unusually for a galliform
Galliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...
species, the young are fed bill-to-bill by both parents instead of pecking from the ground, and although precocial, they roost in the nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
while small.
Crested Partridge is a rotund short-tailed bird, 25 cm in length, with the male marginally larger than the female. Both sexes have a scarlet patch of bare skin around the eye and red legs without a spur or hind toe.
The male is metallic green above with glossy dark blue underparts and a brownish wing panel. The head is adorned with a tall red crest, a white forehead spot and black frontal bristles. The female has pea-green body plumage apart from the brown wing coverts
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
. She has a slate-grey head with the bristles but no spot or crest. The bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is all-dark. Young birds are duller versions of the adult of the same sex. The song is a mournful whistled si-ul.
The Crested Partridge is usually seen singly or in pairs as it uses its feet to probe the forest floor for fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s and invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s. When disturbed, it prefers to run
Cursorial
Cursorial is a biological term that describes an organism as being adapted specifically to run. It is typically used in conjunction with an animal's feeding habits or another important adaptation. For example, a horse can be considered a "cursorial grazer", while a wolf may be considered a...
but if necessary it flies a short distance on its rounded wings.
There is some concern about the effect of habitat destruction on this bird, especially with regard to logging. However, it seems to be somewhat more adaptable than other southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n pheasants. The Crested Wood Partridge is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES.