Barbary Partridge
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| iBarbary Partridge | ||||||||||||||
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 As shown on the Gibraltar 1p coin
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| Alectoris barbara (Bonnaterre, 1791) |
The Barbary Partridge (Alectoris barbara), is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.
This partridge has its main native range in north Africa and the Canary Islands. It has been introduced to Madeira, though there are no recent records of this species. It is closely related and similar to its western European equivalent, the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa).
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 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 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.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Alectoris barbara. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
