Overview
It is a rotund bird, brown-backed, with an orange face and an orange bristly beard in the breeding season. The rest of the head and the underparts are grey with a buff central chest and a black belly patch. The female has a smaller belly patch and is duller than the male. Young Daurian partridges are essentially grey-brown, and lack the distinctive face and underpart markings. The song is a hoarse kieerr-ik.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Perdix
- Species
- dauurica
Habitat
Daurian partridge is a bird of open country, ideally with some adjacent bushes or light woodland, as well as farmland.
Diet
Seeds and insects.
Behavior
It is a non-migratory terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season. The nest is a lined depression in or near cover, and the typical clutch is 18–20 eggs. When disturbed, like most of the gamebirds, it flies a short distance on rounded wings, often calling rick rick rick as it rises.
Hunting
Typically hunted with a 12 gauge or 20 gauge shotgun.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.