Rock Partridge
Steinhuhn
- Alectoris graeca whitakeri
- Alectoris graeca saxatilis
- Alectoris graeca graeca
The rock partridge ( Alectoris graeca ) is a species of bird in the pheasant family -like ( Phasianidae ), which belongs to the order of Galliformes ( Galliformes ). It is a shy bird ground running skilful and untiring, and the entire year can be observed on stony, grassy sunny mountain slopes ( avoid North layers ). During the winter half of the year he stayed at lower altitudes.
Description
The rock partridge is up to 35 cm long, 50-55 cm wide, blue-gray on the top and chest, throat white, with black throat and headband with feathers on the switch are gelbrotbraun and black banded, stainless yellow at the bottom, blackish wings rust-red with yellowish-white stems and canted rust yellowish, the outer feathers; the eye is red-brown, the beak is red, the foot colored pale red. It thus has very close resemblance to the chukar partridge and. From the red-legged partridge, it differs by the black boundary of the white throat patch. This is clearly distinct from the rock partridge. When Chukar the throat patch is unlike the rock partridge is not white but rahmfarben.
Startled partridges usually fly with burrendem ANE downhill. You call it a shrill and gereihtes Pitschi, which is followed by a witu. The rock partridge male wearing during the mating season before long stanzas, zük ... on the go from a starting tsik or in a tri - tri wet -wet. At very excited birds they sound combined with a series of shrill Krählaute. The call sounds then like ka ka kriwä wet wet.
Circulation area and way of life
The rock partridge currently lives in the Alps, Italy, Turkey, Greece and Asia Minor. In the region of the Allgäu Alps, it is also found in Germany. A variety lives in all of Northern Asia. It inhabits sunny, slightly grassy scree between wood and snow line, in the south and the level of rocky ground. The Rock Partridge is characterized by agility, wisdom, and pugnacity of, runs, and climbs very well, flies easily and quickly, rears only in an emergency, feeds on all kinds of plant materials and small animals and also eats the tips of young corn. With this behavior, it is largely identical to the Chukar, the types differ, however, in its call, the rock partridge more like Kakabi, kakabit, Kakabe sound.
In the winter it lives in larger companies, in the spring of the couples isolate, and the female lays in June or July in a trough under bushes or overhanging rock 12 to 15 yellowish-white, brown dotted eggs, hatching it in 26 days.
Subspecies
Within the distribution area of the stone chicken three subspecies are described:
- A. saxatilis g, which is widespread in the Alps and the Apennines, high and to Slovenia. This subspecies is also known as Rock Partridge.
- A. g whitakeri that occurs in Sicily
- A. graeca g is the nominate form and occurs in the Balkans
Previously, rock partridge and chukar were described as a kind. In the meantime, however, it has become accepted that both forms are separate species. The main reason was primarily due to very different vocal repertoire of the two species.
The rock partridge as game and pet
The rock partridge is considered as wild game and is easily tamed. In India and China the rock partridge has become a part of the pet. The animals are bred, put out to pasture, running around freely in the house and are also used to fighting games. In Greece, it was believed that they provide protection against sorcery. They are kept there in very narrow, cone-shaped cages.