The Hungarian partridge is a medium-sized gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. Originally native to Europe and Asia, it has been introduced in many other parts of the world. Identifying the Hungarian partridge requires paying close attention to its distinctive physical features, habitat, range, diet, and vocalizations. This guide will provide all the key identification tips you need to confidently distinguish the Hungarian partridge from similar species.
Appearance and Size
Hungarian partridges are rotund birds with round bodies and short tails. They measure 11-13 inches (28-33 cm) in length and weigh 13-16 ounces (370-450 g). Their compact body shape and upright posture gives them a distinctive round-shouldered look.
The plumage is gray-brown above with intricate black, brown, and rufous barring and vermiculations. The underparts are pale gray with brown and black chevron markings. The face is brownish-gray with a prominent dark eye-stripe through the eye. The throat and neck sides are unmarked pale brownish-gray. The crown is reddish-brown.
The bill is grayish-brown. The legs are yellowish-brown to grayish-brown. The sexes look alike but males tend to have more vivid reddish-brown coloring on the crown and face. Juveniles are duller overall with buff-colored underparts.
In flight, the short, rounded wings show a pattern of darker flight feathers contrasting with the barred coverts and back. The relatively short, squared off tail has blackish central feathers and is tipped with a broad rufous bar.
Overall, the Hungarian partridge has a dumpy, long-tailed profile quite unlike the slender, sleek woodland gamebirds it often associates with. The combination of subtle intricately patterned upperparts and the plain gray breast with chevrons helps distinguish it from other similar species.
Behavior
Hungarian partridges have a fast-running terrestrial lifestyle typical of open country gamebirds. They spend nearly all their time on the ground walking, running, scratching, and foraging in the open habitats they prefer.
Outside the breeding season, they form large compact coveys of 10-30 or more birds. They walk around together constantly uttering low contact calls. When flushed, they explode into the air in a scattered flock before swiftly re-settling again.
They are adaptable generalists and may be seen along field edges, roadsides, grassy embankments, stubble fields, open marshes, or any habitat that provides overhead cover and access to seeds and greens. They prefer areas with some taller grasses, shrubs, or crops mixed in to allow escape from predators.
Though capable of short flights, Hungarian partridges spend most of their time on the ground. To escape threats, they often prefer running and hiding in vegetation rather than flying. When approached, they hunker close to the ground, relying on their cryptic barred plumage to avoid detection.
Distribution and Habitat
The Hungarian partridge is native to Central Europe and Asia. Its natural breeding range stretches from easternmost Austria, Czechia, and Germany east through Poland, Ukraine, southern Russia and the Balkans. It extends further eastwards across Central Asia to Mongolia and northernmost China.
It has been widely introduced and established outside its native range, now occurring in England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States. In North America, stable populations occur in the Canadian Prairie Provinces, the U.S. Great Plains, and parts of the Intermountain West.
Throughout its range, both native and introduced, the Hungarian partridge strongly favors open country agricultural landscapes. It thrives in areas of small grain crops, pasturelands, hayfields, and grasslands where areas of taller vegetation provide cover.
Diet
Hungarian partridges are omnivores that forage on the ground primarily eating plants supplemented with insects. Seeds of grains and grasses comprise the bulk of their diet. They also eat leafy greens, flowers, buds, berries, and some roots.
Common agricultural crops like wheat, barley, oats, and alfalfa are dietary staples. They supplement this vegetation with insects like beetles, grasshoppers, ants, caterpillars, and others gleaned from the ground and low vegetation. They may also rarely take small snails and worms. They need to drink regularly and are usually found near water sources.
Chicks are fed mainly insects for their first two weeks to provide sufficient protein for rapid growth. Adults do most of their foraging in the morning and evening in open areas with good visibility. They puddle and dust bathe regularly in loose dry soil to clean plumage and remove parasites.
Breeding and Nesting
The breeding season begins in April or May depending on latitude. The male establishes a breeding territory and performs courtship displays to visiting females. He inflates his neck, fans his tail, droops his wings, and struts in an upright posture while uttering a repetitive choo-choo call.
If a female approves, she will crouch down submissively allowing copulation to occur. She will mate with multiple males but typically forms a stronger pair bond with one dominant male who plays a bigger role in defending the territory and raising the young.
The female builds a simple scrape nest on the ground lined with grasses and leaves. It is well concealed in dense low vegetation, often at the base of a shrub or clump of grass. A typical clutch contains 10-18 olive-colored eggs that are incubated for 23-25 days.
The precocial downy chicks leave the nest shortly after hatching. They can make short flights by two weeks old. Both parents actively care for the young, keeping them warm, safe from predators, and leading them to good foraging areas. The chicks fledge at around four weeks old. Typical lifespan in the wild is one to two years.
Voice
Hungarian partridges are relatively noisy birds making a variety of vocalizations throughout the year. The male’s territorial call is a distinctive repetitive choo-choo or chee-uck. When flushed, they make loud harsh calls like churr-ik or herr.
In flight, their wings whistle with a dry trilling sound. Other common calls include soft clucking contact calls, aggressive growling rattles, and high-pitched peeping alarm calls. During courtship, males utter ecstatic trilling and pig-like grunting sounds. Overall, their vocal repertoire is higher-pitched, raspy, and hurried compared to similar pheasants.
Tracks and Signs
Due to their terrestrial habits, Hungarian partridges leave behind abundant signs even when the birds themselves are not visible. Look for their small, two-toed tracks in areas of soft mud or dust. Individual prints are about 2 inches long by 1.5 inches wide. The footprint has two asymmetric teardrop-shaped toes placed close together pointing forward with a hint of a hind toe pointing posteriorly.
Also look for areas of scratched up soil, feathers, and prints around dust bathing sites. Listen for their distinctive vocalizations carrying across open fields. Watch for their beetle-shaped silhouette hugging the ground as they run between cover in the open.
Similar Species
The Hungarian partridge belongs to the diverse pheasant family which includes many ground-dwelling gamebirds with subtley varied plumages of browns, tans, grays, and cryptic barring. Within its range, the Hungarian partridge is unlikely to be confused with any species except the very similar looking gray partridge (Perdix perdix).
The gray partridge has a face pattern that is more boldly marked black and white. It lacks the reddish-brown crown coloring of the Hungarian. Its breast has horseshoe-shaped markings rather than chevrons. Gray partridges have a faster, higher-pitched call and prefer habitats with more low cover rather than open cultivated land.
Juvenile Hungarian partridges resemble young chukars (Alectoris chukar) but the chukar’s range does not overlap. The chukar also has obvious white throat and face markings. Outside the native range, the Hungarian partridge could potentially be confused with local quail or Old World partridge species depending on location.
Hunting and Conservation Status
The Hungarian partridge is prized as a sporting gamebird across much of its range. Many birds are raised and released by hunting estates and agencies to augment wild populations for hunting. It is legal to hunt in most areas with open seasons varying by region.
Overharvest and habitat loss have caused some decline in parts of its native range. But habitat management and stocking programs aimed at hunters have allowed it to thrive in many areas. Overall populations remain relatively high and stable. The Hungarian partridge’s adaptability allows it to flourish in human-altered environments. It is considered a Least Concern species by the IUCN Red List.
Conclusion
With a distinctive short-tailed silhouette, intricately patterned plumage, and raspy vocalizations, the Hungarian partridge is a unique open country gamebird. Look for it hugging the ground in agricultural areas across much of Europe and Asia. Listen for its hurried choo-choo call filtering over fields and grasslands. Careful attention to identification tips will help distinguish this wary bird from other pheasant species. With ongoing habitat conservation and management tailored to hunters, the adaptable Hungarian partridge remains common through most of its range.