Daurian Partridge
Encyclopedia
The Daurian Partridge Perdix daurica is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae
of the order Galliformes
, gallinaceous birds. The name derives from the "Dauria" region.
This partridge
breeds on farmland across much of temperate eastern Asia
from Kyrgyzstan
east to China
and Mongolia
. It is a non-migratory
terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season. In parts of its range, it overlaps with the very similar and closely related Grey Partridge
, with which it forms a superspecies
.
Daurian Partridge is a bird of open country, ideally with some adjacent bushes or light woodland. The nest is a lined depression in or near cover, and the typical clutch is 18-20 eggs.
It is a rotund bird, 28-30 cm long, brown-backed, with an orange face and an orange bristly “beard” in the breeding season. The rest of the head and the underparts are grey with a buff central chest and a black belly patch. The female has a smaller belly patch and is duller than the male. Young Daurian Partridges are esentally grey-brown, and lack the distinctive face and underpart markings. The song is a harse kieerr-ik.
There are three subspecies differing mainly in the plumage becoming darker and more rufous further east.
This is a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take insect
s as an essential protein
supply. When disturbed, like most of the gamebirds, it flies a short distance on rounded wings, often calling rick rick rick as it rises.
Daurian Partridge is not globally threatened, but may be overhunted in parts of its range.
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. The name derives from the "Dauria" region.
This 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...
breeds on farmland across much of temperate eastern 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...
from Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
east to 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...
and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. It is a 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...
terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season. In parts of its range, it overlaps with the very similar and closely related Grey Partridge
Grey Partridge
The Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, also known as the English Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, or Hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds...
, with which it forms a superspecies
Superspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
.
Daurian Partridge is a bird of open country, ideally with some adjacent bushes or light woodland. The nest is a lined depression in or near cover, and the typical clutch is 18-20 eggs.
It is a rotund bird, 28-30 cm long, brown-backed, with an orange face and an orange bristly “beard” in the breeding season. The rest of the head and the underparts are grey with a buff central chest and a black belly patch. The female has a smaller belly patch and is duller than the male. Young Daurian Partridges are esentally grey-brown, and lack the distinctive face and underpart markings. The song is a harse kieerr-ik.
There are three subspecies differing mainly in the plumage becoming darker and more rufous further east.
This is a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take 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...
s as an essential protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
supply. When disturbed, like most of the gamebirds, it flies a short distance on rounded wings, often calling rick rick rick as it rises.
Daurian Partridge is not globally threatened, but may be overhunted in parts of its range.