Hungarian Partridge

(Perdix perdix)

• Avicultural Data
• Images
• Bibliography
• Links

Perdix perdix Photo by Bruce Craiq

Other Names: Grey Partridge, Hun, English Partridge, Bohemian Partridge, European Partridge.

Range: Great Britain, Northern Spain, France and Italy east through Europe into Turkey, Russia and western Siberia. Introduced throughout the world and well established in the United States.

Subspecies: P. p. perdix, P. p. hispaniensis, P. p. armoricana, P. p. sphagnetorum, P. p. lucida, P. p. canescens and P. p. robusta.

Habitat: Prefers open areas, farmlands and brush.

Description: The face and throat is rusty-orange. The breast is finely vermiculated gray with a dark-chestnut horseshoe marking on the upper abdomen; the belly is white and to light buff. The upper back is vermiculated brown, gray and white; the wings are mottled with dark brown. The tail is chestnut.

Description, Female: The hen is similar to the male. The horseshoe marking on the breast maybe absent, smaller or lighter than in the male.

Status in Wild: Common in both the original range and in the US.

Avicultural Data

Status in Aviculture: Very common and often kept by small breeders and large scale game farms.

Breeding Season: Begins in late April and may last into September.

Breeding Age: First year.

Clutch Size: 15, hens will lay several clutches per season.

Incubation Period: 24 days.

Misc. Aviculture Notes: While they will get along in groups during the winter months, birds must be paired up by early March or fighting will begin. Can be kept on the ground or on wire. Pen sizes should be at least six feet long by two feet wide. If on wire, a portion of the cage should have a solid bottom with sand or straw for the hen to nest in. They are hardy birds and able to withstand temperature extremes.

Click on thumbnails for larger views.

Photo Credits
(l to r): 1, Mark Wagoner; 2-4, Jan Harteman; 5, Franηois Lapointe.

• Hayes, LB. 1995. Upland Game Birds: Their Breeding and Care. Leland Hayes, Valley Center, CA.
• Johnsgard, P.A. 1988. The Quails, Partridges, and Francolins of the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
• Mullarney, K., Svensson, L., Zetterström, D., Grant, P.J. 1999. Birds of Europe. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
• Robbins, G.E.S. 1998. Partridges & Francolins, their Conservation, Breeding & Management. World Pheasant Association.

Links related to this species. Please note, links will open in a new window.

• Grey Partridge - ARKive species factsheet.
• Grey Partridge - BirdGuides species factsheet.
• Grey Partridge - BirdLife species factsheet.
• Grey Partridge - Mangoverde World Bird Guide Species Page; Images & Sounds.
• Grey Partridge - New Hampshire Public Television's Natureworks fact sheet.
• Grey Partridge - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter.
• Perdix perdix Images - Images of this species located at the Phasianidae group on flickr.
• Wikipedia - Grey Partridge - Wikipedia's species page.