Along the grasslands of the Eurosiberian mountains lives a non-migratory species, easily recognizable by its small tail, its round body and its characteristic way of flying by combining the movement of its wings with aerodynamic displacements in the air. This is the grey partridge.
Source: © naturepl.com / David Tipling / WWF
The grey partridge is a species part of a group of land birds known as the pheasant. But the place where you see them depends a lot on the climatic conditions, since if it rains a lot during the night, you will find them in the first light of the day looking for food in the cereal crops. Or, if the wind is strong, they will seek refuge in the divisions made in a garden. In addition, in calm and hot hours of noon you will see them in the shadows of sunflower, alfalfa and beet crops. They differ from other partridges by their orange face and gray neck and chest. The males, weighing up to 400 grams, have a thin stripe on their head while the female, about 350 grams, has a white mottled reaching up to 32 cm.
When it is nesting season, females generally lay 12 to 18 eggs, sometimes even up to 22, and cover the nest with grass and weeds to keep them warm and protected when they are far from the nest. After 25 days of incubation, the eggs begin to hatch and the chicks leave the nest with their parents to guide them towards the food, since they must do it alone. Fortunately, they only need 2 weeks to learn how to make short flights and 3 to 4 months to reach full maturity.
At the moment its world population ranges from 3.9 to 7.6 million pairs, but its number is falling according to the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources). Their number is high in mountainous areas, preferably above 1100 meters, but it is decreasing in places of lower altitude due to several threats such as forest fires, introduced species, breeding farms and the destruction of human beings due to economic activities.
Source:
https://www.faunaiberica.org/perdiz-pardilla
https://www.audubon.org/es/guia-de-aves/ave/perdiz-pardilla
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