The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French partridge, to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge. The genus name is from Ancient Greek alektoris a farmyard chicken, and rufa is Latin for red or rufous.

It is a rotund bird, with a light brown back, grey breast and buff belly. The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings. This is a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take insects as an essential protein supply. The call is a three-syllable ka-chu-chu.

Taxonomy

The red-legged partridge was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tetrao rufus. Linnaeus designated the type locality as southern Europe but this is now restricted to northern Italy. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "red" or "rufous". The red-legged partridge is now one of seven partridge species placed in the genus Alectoris that was introduced in 1829 by German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup.

Three subspecies are recognised:

New Zealand

Many red-legged partridges are kept and bred in captivity in New Zealand aviaries where the population is considered secure at the moment. These particular birds are all descendants from one of the last attempts at introducing the species to the wild by the (Auckland) Acclimatisation Society.

A consignment of 1500 eggs was sent from the United Kingdom in July 1980. However, the boxes were delayed by two days and had evidently over-heated en route. There was further delay in getting the eggs through customs and quarantine clearance. By the time they reached Massey University (which had been invested in to take on the project), hopes were not high and only 135 chicks were hatched. Two further consignments totaling 638 eggs were sent mid-1981. From these only 53 chicks hatched. The plan was to rear these birds and put them through six breeding cycles in two years using controlled lighting and thus establish a substantial breeding nucleus. The programme at Massey was soon terminated and all the birds dispersed to other breeders, primarily the game farm at Te Ahoha which had already produced some young, but some were also given to the Wildlife Service. At the end of the 1983 breeding season, the population had increased to 940 birds.

The current actual status of wild, self-sustaining red-legged partridges in New Zealand is questionable. Back-yard agriculturalists and gamebird breeders/preserves hold most of the population. Some zoos and farm-parks exhibit this species. It is not frequently eaten by the public.

Similar species is the chukar partridge which is not allowed to be kept in captivity and has been naturalized in the South Island as an upland game bird since the 1930s. The chukar partridge's population has been in decline since the late 1980s. Other introduced gamebirds are bobwhite quail, brown quail, California quail, guinea fowl, blue peafowl, wild turkey, and pheasant. Major management efforts are made for the more valued of these species, such as bobwhites and pheasants.

References

  • Ageing and sexing (PDF; 4.3 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze