Red-legged partrigde

    Alectoris rufa

Castilian: Perdiz roja

Catalan: Perdiu roja

Gallego: Perdiz

Euskera: Eper gorria

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Insufficient Data”.

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THREATS

Destruction of its habitat due to intensification in farming or to land being abandoned, the irrigation of previously dry land, and bad hunting management.

Length / size: 32-34 cm / 47-50 cm

Identification: Pudgy, medium-sized bird. Both sexes are the same: their bill, legs and eye-ring are red, their back is greyish-brown, their belly and the tip of their tail are orange, their flanks have white, black, brown and grey bars, their throat is white, and their chest has black spots. Juveniles are brown and have cryptic plumage. In flight it alternates between flapping its wings strongly and gliding.

Song: It makes a characteristic "chak ka chack" sound that gets progressively more intense.

Diet: It primarily feeds on plant seeds, leaves, some roots, and insects.

Reproduction: Pairs are formed between February and March, and eggs are laid between April and early May. It forms a nest in a hole in the ground, hidden in the vegetation, which it covers with feathers and grass. It can lay eggs a second time, in which case it is the male that incubates. The chicks leave the nest immediately after hatching.

HABITAT

It occupies open lands with scattered trees, farmland, grasslands, pastureland, etc.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the entire peninsula and the Balearic Islands, but it is most abundant in the centre and south of the peninsula.

In Castile and León: It breeds in all the provinces.

Movements and migrations: Altitudinal movements have been observed in winter.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1.7 million to 4 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is no data about the population size.