Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa Scientific name definitions

34–38 cm; male 480–547 g, female 391–540 g; wingspan 47–50 cm. Best distinguished from other Alectoris by black mottling on breast and sides of neck forming necklace of spots and streaks, as well as more earth-brown upperparts (although some races of A. chukar are similarly-coloured above); white forehead also distinctive. Might also be confused with Perdix perdix, but note black-bordered white throat, unmarked upperparts, bold flanks barring and whitish supercilium of present species. Many introduced birds are in fact hybrids with A. chukar and these often appear greyer above, with much less streaking below the black gorget. Female slightly smaller than male, with duller head and throat and no tarsal spur. Juvenile smaller and much duller with crown and nape dark olive-brown, upperparts, breast-sides and flanks grey-brown, the latter tract with whitish subterminal bars and central streaks to each feather, breast blue-grey, throat whitish with dusky-mottled border, and rest of underparts yellowish buff, while bill and legs are dull reddish or horn-brown; however, soon attains traces of black collar and flanks pattern, and is essentially adult-like at age c. 4 months. Races very similar, differing mainly in tone of plumage colour: hispanica is darker, brighter and more richly coloured than nominate, with a stouter bill, while intercedens is much paler above than the preceding race, with a greyer rump, brighter underparts and a heavier bill than nominate race.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Possibly closest to A. graeca. Previously thought to be close to A. chukar, A. philbyi and A. barbara; now considered to be more distant from those and from A. magna. Hybridizes with A. graeca in S French Alps. Recent study suggested that current populations resulted from post-glacial expansion and subsequent differentiation, with five diagnosable genetic clusters: south-western Iberia; central-eastern Iberia; north-western Iberia; Balearic; and French and Italian (1 Ferrero, M.E., Blanco-Aguiar, J.A., Lougheed, S.C., Sánchez-Barbudo, I., de Nova, P.J.G., Villafuerte, R. and Dávila, J.A. (2011). Phylogeography and genetic structure of the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa): more evidence for refugia within the Iberian glacial refugium. Mol. Ecol. 20(12): 2628–2642. Close ). However, an analysis of the control region of mitochondrial DNA (in 346 individuals sampled throughout the species distribution range) has shown that there is no distinct intraspecific phylogeographical structure, against the expected distribution of subspecies based on morphological characters; only the NW Iberian populations (race hispanica) show a weak population structure (2 Rodríguez García, M.J. and Galián, J. (2014). Lack of mitochondrial genetic structure in the red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa (Phasianidae). J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res.. 52(1): 59–64. Close ). Geographical plumage variation slight and clinal; Corsican population has been separated as race corsa, but usually included in nominate; race australis described from Gran Canaria (Canary Is), where species is introduced. Three subspecies recognized.

Introduced in several parts of Europe (e.g. rufa in Britain), and several Atlantic islands (hispanica in Madeira, intercedens and perhaps hispanica in Azores, intercedens in Canary Is); unsuccessfully in USA and New Zealand.

• Red-legged x Rock Partridge (hybrid) Alectoris rufa x graeca

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Apparently less specialized than other Alectoris, ranging from Mediterranean to humid temperate zones, but not in boreal, oceanic or arid zones; prefers lowland areas and generally is found in drier habitats than Perdix perdix. Avoids forest and wet areas if possible; uses habitats with a wide variety of soils and land uses, again more varied than congeners. Dry , hilly land with scattered small bushes up to c. 1300 m in montane foothills, but apparently on rare occasions as high as 2000 m, especially in S; from inhospitable dry terrain on lower mountain slopes to marginal cultivation, cropland, orchards (e.g. olive groves) (3 Duarte, J. and Vargas, J.M. (1998). Nesting of the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) upon olive tree trunks in the south of Spain. Alauda. 66(4): 317–319. Close ), woodland, etc.

Mostly sedentary, but some descent to lower ground noted in winter months.

Diet very similar to those of A. chukar and Perdix perdix, though takes some larger items than latter. Seeds, leaves and roots; grasses and legumes especially important in winter. In Spain, predominantly wild and cultivated grasses and forage legumes, mainly vetches, Vicia, and other seeds and fruits on occasion; also ants, grasshoppers and other insects, with animal diet especially important to young birds. In Portugal, various seeds and roots, grass foliage (mainly Poa) and legumes; roots such as Poa, Ranunculus and Leontodon in Aug–Oct; from Oct, grass leaves and legumes enter diet and become main components during winter; insects 3% by volume on average, but 10% in summer. Often visits drinking site in early morning, prior to feeding. Mainly recorded in small coveys of up to ten individuals, but aggregations of up to 70 are not infrequent during post-breeding season, with gatherings of up to 300 noted during cold winter weather and single-sex coveys of up to 40 birds reported in USA (introduced) during late winter; non-breeders remain in flocks throughout nesting period.

Generally rather similar to A. chukar and is also most vocal in early mornings. Territorial call a series of repeated, chicken-like, short clucks, growing into harsh grating phrases “chuk..chuk...chuk...chuk-ar...chuk-ar..gu-chu-karr..gu-chu-karr...”, and similar variations. Also a repeated rhythmic phrase “go-chuk...chuk-cho-korrr”, with the quality of a steam engine in its delivery. When flushed, usually utters a repeated, squealed “cheer-agh”; also soft “chik” notes in contact, as well as various other short harsh or squealing notes (4 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). 

Lays late Apr to early May in Portugal, but starts as early as late Jan in Spain (5 Vargas, J.M., Duarte, J., Farfan, M.A., Villafuerte, R. and Fa, J.E. (2012). Are reclamo hunting seasons for the Spanish Red-legged Partridge off the mark? Journal of Wildlife Management. 76(4): 714–720. Close ); late Apr to May in England; May to mid Jun in France. Monogamous, with long-term bonds; occasionally bigamous; winter coveys typically start to disband in Feb and Mar. Nest-site chosen by female; nest, constructed by male, is scrape in ground lined with a few scraps of vegetation, usually in shade of grass tuft, bush or boulder, but occasionally up to c. 1 m above ground in holes in trees (3 Duarte, J. and Vargas, J.M. (1998). Nesting of the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) upon olive tree trunks in the south of Spain. Alauda. 66(4): 317–319. Close ). Mean 11·2–12·7 white or pale yellow-buff eggs speckled reddish brown and grey (range 7–20, exceptionally up to 28), laid at intervals of up to 36 hours, mean size 41·4 mm × 31·1 mm (6 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ), mass c. 12–19 g (7 Cabezas-Díaz, S. and Virgós, E. (2007). Adaptive and non-adaptive explanations for hatching failure in eggs of the Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa. Ardea. 95(1): 55–63. Close ) (variation in egg colour is only between clutches, not within them) (8 Castilla, A.M., Dhondt, A.A., Díaz-Uriarte, R. and Westmoreland, D. (2007). Predation in ground-nesting birds: an experimental study using natural egg-color variation. Avian Conserv. & Ecol.. 2(1): 2 Close ); male will incubate if female absent, but usually female alone incubates; double-brooding reported, with second clutch started shortly after first, and adults incubating one clutch each, but incidence of this varies strongly between years being positively influenced by rainfall (9 Casas, F., Mougeot, F. and Viñuela, J. (2009). Double-nesting behaviour and sexual differences in breeding success in wild Red-legged Partridges Alectoris rufa. Ibis. 151(4): 743–751 Close ); incubation 23–25 days, probably starting with final egg (6 Harrison, C. J. O., and P. Castell (2002). Bird Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Second revised edition. HarperCollins, London, UK. Close ); chicks have rich brown and cream down above , paler below; young tended by both parents if only one clutch, each clutch by one parent if two; chicks brooded when small; precocial flight at c. 10 days; full adult size at 50–60 days; remain with adults through first winter. As females age, they tend to produce marginally lighter eggs but larger clutches, while younger females tend to start laying later than older females (10 Cabezas-Díaz, S., Virgós, E. and Villafuerte, R. (2005). Reproductive performance changes with age and laying experience in the Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa. Ibis. 147(2): 316–323 Close ). In addition, clutch size decreases with later laying date (9 Casas, F., Mougeot, F. and Viñuela, J. (2009). Double-nesting behaviour and sexual differences in breeding success in wild Red-legged Partridges Alectoris rufa. Ibis. 151(4): 743–751 Close ). Nest and egg losses of c. 50% have been reported in Spain (3 Duarte, J. and Vargas, J.M. (1998). Nesting of the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) upon olive tree trunks in the south of Spain. Alauda. 66(4): 317–319. Close ), with probability of clutch loss to predation differing between sexes, being much higher for nests incubated by females (9 Casas, F., Mougeot, F. and Viñuela, J. (2009). Double-nesting behaviour and sexual differences in breeding success in wild Red-legged Partridges Alectoris rufa. Ibis. 151(4): 743–751 Close ), while in C Italy mean brood size decreased from c. 10 on hatching to c. 6 after 60 days old (11 Meriggi, A. and Mazzoni della Stella, R. (2004). Dynamics of a reintroduced population of red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa in central Italy. Wildl. Biol.. 9: 1–9. Close ). Sometimes parasitized by Coturnix coturnix (12 Casas, F., Mougeot, F. and Viñuela, J. (2010). Occurrence of Common Quail Coturnix coturnix eggs in Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa nests. Bird Study. 57(4): 560–562. Close ), while the present species has been recorded egg-dumping in nests of Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) (13 Talabante, C., Gómez, J., Aparicio, A. and Arroyo, B. (2013). Mixed clutches in Montagu’s harrier Circus pygargus nests: a maladaptive brood parasitism by galliform birds. Bird Study. 60(3): 414–416 Close ). Sexual maturity in first year. Survival in S Spain consistently > 90% for both sexes in natural habitats, but in two areas managed intensively for hunting and agriculture, survival was low during hunting period (72% for females and 79% for males), high during breeding season for males (99%) and intermediate for females (89%) due mainly to diseases, with hunting the main cause of mortality in both hunting areas (14 Buenestado, F.J., Ferreras, P., Blanco-Aguiar, J.A., Tortosa, F.S. and Villafuerte, R. (2009). Survival and causes of mortality among wild Red-legged Partridges Alectoris rufa in southern Spain: implications for conservation. Ibis. 151(4): 720–730 Close ). Regular prey of Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) in some areas (15 Ontiveros, D. and Pleguezuelos, J.M. (2000). Influence of prey densities in the distribution and breeding success of Bonelli’s eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus): management implications. Biological Conservation. 93: 19–25. Close ), while predators of eggs and chicks include red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and various corvids (11 Meriggi, A. and Mazzoni della Stella, R. (2004). Dynamics of a reintroduced population of red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa in central Italy. Wildl. Biol.. 9: 1–9. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Near Threatened). Population estimated at between 2,000,0000 and 4,500,000 pairs. Believed to have declined considerably in its native range, with extirpations reported in N Brittany (France), W & S Switzerland and Germany’s Rhineland, while attempted reintroductions in the last-named country have since failed (16 Gedeon, K., C. Grüneberg, A. Mitschke, C. Sudfeldt, W. Eikhorst, S. Fischer, M. Flade, S. Frick, I. Geiersberger, B. Koop, M. Kramer, T. Krüger, N. Roth, T. Ryslavy, S. Stübing, S. R. Sudmann, S. Steffens, F. Vökler, and K. Witt (2014). Atlas Deutscher Brutvogelarten [Atlas of German Breeding Birds]. Stiftung Vogelmonitoring Deutschland und Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten, Münster, Germany. Close ); following decline in Liguria, Piemonte and adjacent regions in NW Italy, now stable at c. 1000–2000 coveys; species is being reintroduced in parts of C Italy where it became extinct in early 20th century, with predator controls being used to secure breeding success (11 Meriggi, A. and Mazzoni della Stella, R. (2004). Dynamics of a reintroduced population of red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa in central Italy. Wildl. Biol.. 9: 1–9. Close ). In Portugal, declining and now scarce towards coastal regions; 6,200,000–7,400,000 birds may be shot each year, amounting to > 60% of estimated potential population; habitat fragmentation due to urbanization and agricultural expansion is also a problem; illegal importations of A. graeca and A. chukar may also be causing problems through hybridization and competition (17 Barilani, M., Bernard-Laurent, A., Mucci, N., Tabarroni, C., Kark, S., Perez Garrido, J.A. and Randi, E. (2007). Hybridisation with introduced chukars (Alectoris chukar) threatens the gene pool integrity of native rock (A. graeca) and red-legged (A. rufa) partridge populations. Biological Conservation. 137: 57–69. Close ). Most valuable gamebird in Spain, where widely distributed, with densities sometimes reaching in excess of 20 pairs per 100 ha (18 Gortázar, C., Villafuerte, R., Escudero, M.A. and Marco, J. (2002). Post-breeding densities of the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) in agrosystems: a large-scale study in Aragón, northeastern Spain. Z. Jagdwiss. 48: 94–101. Close ); fairly common to common in areas of suitable habitat where not overhunted; restocking with captive-bred birds frequent in hunting areas, but the population is overall considered to be in decline (19 Díaz-Fernández, S., Viñuela, J. and Arroyo, B. (2012). Harvest of Red-legged Partridge in central Spain. Journal of Wildlife Management. 76(7): 1354–1363. Close ). Wild stocks in Britain , where introduced, are currently estimated to number between 72,000 and 200,000 pairs, versus c. 90,000 in the late 1980s, with up to c. 6,500,000 released annually by the hunting fraternity, of which c. 2,600,000 are shot (20 Ogilvie, M., and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (1999). Non-native birds breeding in the United Kingdom in 1996. British Birds 92(4):176–182. Close , 21 Holling, M., and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2011). Non-native breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2006, 2007 and 2008. British Birds 104(3):114–138. Close ). Release into the field of individuals bred in farms with no control of their genetic identity and geographic origin appears to have already eroded the genetic diversity; a mean of 800,000 partridges were released annually in the province of Ciudad Real, C Spain, in 2006–2012 (22 Caro, J., Delibes-Mateos, M., Vicente, J. and Arroyo, B. (2014). A quantitative assessment of the release of farm-reared red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) for shooting in central Spain. Eur. J. Wildl. Res.. 60(6): 919–926. Close ); NW Spain might represent the only area where A. r. hispanica would still occur (2 Rodríguez García, M.J. and Galián, J. (2014). Lack of mitochondrial genetic structure in the red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa (Phasianidae). J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res.. 52(1): 59–64. Close ). In addition, farm-reared partridge releases appear to increase hunting pressure on wild breeding partridges (23 Casas, F., Arroyo, B., Viñuela, J., Guzmán, J.L. and Mougeot, F. (2016). Are farm-reared red-legged partridge releases increasing hunting pressure on wild breeding partridges in central Spain? European Journal of Wildlife Research. 62(1): 79–84. Close ).