Red-legged Partridge
Red-legged partridge ( Alectoris rufa)
The red-legged partridge ( Alectoris rufa ) is a species of bird in the pheasant family -like ( Phasianidae ), which belongs to the order of Galliformes ( Galliformes ).
Appearance
The red-legged partridge is very similar to the rock partridge. Other than that, however, it is feathered brown and not gray at the crown and back. The white throat patch is smaller. The chest strap that limits the throat patch is towards the abdomen not as clearly separated as in the rock partridge. It runs on in a black mottling. When flying up Rothühnern also the bright fire red tail feathers are visible.
The red-legged partridge has a number of calls, which generally have a social function. The Chechen or tset psiä tok ... calls can be repeated long -lasting. Males carry their singing, which can be heard over a few hundred meters away from a point of view or from the ground before. The song begins with a whetted Waet - Waet and slowly increases with tek -tek tok tok or. The highlight of the call are combinations of tok - elements with Krählauten. A typical call sequence is a tok tok - - korährähräh - korähräh ..
Distribution and habitat
The red-legged partridge is found today in the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and northwestern Italy. In France, the spread north through the 8 - ° C in March isotherm and bounded to the east direction of propagation through the 2 ° C January isotherm. Naturalized besides, it was in the Azores, Gran Canaria, Madeira, the Balearic Islands and Corsica. In Britain, the red-legged partridge was reintroduced in 1770 and has since been in southern and central England an estimated wild game. After also Chukarhühner were exposed there, but there was a hybridization with the resident Rothuhnbeständen. In Britain, the suspension of Chukarhühnern and half-breeds between red and Chukarhühnern since September 1992 therefore prohibited. Until the 16th century, the Red-legged Partridge was also found in the Rhine, Aar and the Neckar valley. It disappeared in 1560, began as a climatic deterioration. In Bavaria, last occurrence lasted until the 18th century, in the canton of Jura in the 19th century. The last Central European breeding population there were in the south of Switzerland, but the extinct until 1920. There has been in Central Europe a number of settlement attempts, but failed for the most part. So are newly established breeding populations in the Netherlands, which included 25 to 30 breeding pairs in the 1980s, then went out. Between 1998 to 2000, however, three to ten breeding pairs have been established in the south of the Netherlands, there were also individual broods in the 1990s in North Rhine- Westphalia as well as a breed in Bavaria in 2000.
Within its range three subspecies are distinguished.
The partridge comes in its southern distribution area at altitudes of 2000 meters before, but preferably flat as a habitat to undulating terrain on light soils.