Grey partridge

Perdix perdix

A round farmland partridge with brown upperparts, gray breast, orange face, and often a dark horseshoe belly mark.

Key facts

Grey partridge (Perdix perdix) is an omnivore animal classified as Bird · Galliformes · Phasianidae.
Primary habitats are grassland · urban, with a range across Palearctic · Nearctic.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is herd, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A round farmland partridge with brown upperparts, gray breast, orange face, and often a dark horseshoe belly mark.
Uses arable fields, grassland, pasture, hedged farmland, and rough ground with short cover and hiding places.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Uses arable fields, grassland, pasture, hedged farmland, and rough ground with short cover and hiding places.

The body is rotund, the face orange-toned, and the breast gray. Males often show a chestnut horseshoe patch on the belly.

Family parties and small coveys form outside breeding. When flushed, birds fly low and straight for short distances.

Seeds, grain, shoots, and insects are eaten, with chicks requiring many insects early in life.

Ground nests are placed on field edges or grassland. Large clutches hatch into chicks that walk with the adults.

Globally low-risk, but intensive farming in western Europe has reduced weeds and insects needed by local populations.