Barbary partridge

The Barbary partridge (Alectoris barbara) is a gamebird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of the order Galliformes. It is native to North Africa.

Barbary partridge
Alectoris barbara

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Alectoris
Species:
A. barbara
Binomial name
Alectoris barbara
(Bonnaterre, 1791)
Eggs of Alectoris barbara - MHNT

Distribution

The Barbary partridge has its main native range in North Africa, and is also native to Gibraltar[2] and the Canary Islands (Alectoris barbara ssp. koenigi).[3] It has been introduced to Portugal and Madeira, though there are no recent records of this species on the latter islands. It is also present in Sardinia.

Description

The Barbary partridge is a rotund bird, with a grey-brown back, grey breast and buff belly. The face is light grey with a broad reddish-brown gorget. It has rufous-streaked white flanks and red legs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings.

It is closely related to its western European equivalent, the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). It is similar to the red-legged partridge, but it has a different head and neck pattern. The song is a noisy tre-tre-tre-tre-tre-cheeche-tre-tre-tre.

Breeding
Eggs of Alectoris barbara - MHNT

This 33–36 cm bird is a resident breeder in dry, open and often hilly country. It nests in a scantily lined ground scrape laying 10-16 eggs. The Barbary partridge takes a wide variety of seeds and some insect food.

The Barbary partridge is the national bird of Gibraltar.[4]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Alectoris barbara". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "The Gibraltar Bird List: Bird species observed in or from the territory of Gibraltar". Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  3. (in Spanish) Martín P., Cardona A., Avifauna Canaria II, Aves de las Zonas Bajas p 55
  4. "Gibraltar's Culture and Customs". Retrieved 3 August 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.