Grey partridge

Scientific name: Perdix perdix

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Both sexes are compact, round-bodied game birds with grey-brown plumage and rufous barring on flanks. Males display a distinctive dark chestnut face patch and belly blotch; females are duller with reduced facial markings.

Size and weight

Adults weigh 325–450 g; body length 29–31 cm. Males average slightly heavier than females.

Habitat

Grey partridges inhabit open and semi-open lowland landscapes including arable farmland, grassland, and cereal crops. They favour areas with mixed cultivation and rough field margins, typically below 500 m altitude.

Distribution

Native to western Eurasia from Britain east to Russia; now absent or scarce across much of former range. Remaining populations favour intensively farmed lowland regions with mixed arable and grassland mosaics.

Diet

Grey partridges eat seeds (cereals, legumes, weeds) year-round, supplemented by insects and green plant matter in spring and summer.

Behaviour

Diurnal and crepuscular; highly terrestrial and reluctant fliers except when flushed. They form coveys of 4–15 birds in autumn and winter; pairs or small family groups in breeding season. Movement is typically running and low, direct flight.

Hunting tips

Look for droppings (small, cylindrical, often in clusters) and dust-bath hollows in field margins and bare ground. Approach into the wind across open ground early or late in day when birds are most active. Flush birds from rough cover by walking steadily; they run ahead before bursting into low, fast flight with rapid wingbeats and audible calls.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 34 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.