Alectoris chukar
Daria Semenova · Old Tbilisi Georgia field photo
The chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) is a chicken-like bird of the pheasant family that breeds in Georgia and stays here all year. 2024 data confirm this, backed by photographs, sound recordings and a bird taken by a hunter. It has been seen in Kakheti and Tbilisi, but only a few times in Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samtskhe-Javakheti. The Iori Plateau, the upper reaches of the Mtkvari River valley and the Kvernaki Ridge are also named among its places. It poses no direct threat to people. Globally its risk of extinction is low, while national assessments of its status in Georgia contradict each other. An adult is about 34–38 cm long. To identify it, look for three features together: a red beak, a pale throat outlined by a black stripe, and black stripes on its sides.
Identification
The chukar partridge is a medium-sized, stocky bird that lives on the ground. Its beak and legs are red. A black stripe runs from the eye down both sides of the neck and frames the pale throat, while bold black stripes cross the pale feathers on its flanks. In rocky places, these features will be especially helpful for recognising it.
An adult chukar is about 34–38 cm long. Its back is gray-brown, its throat is pale, and black stripes run along its sides. Males are slightly larger on average, but you cannot reliably tell a bird's sex by size alone. On young birds, the bold markings of adults may be less noticeable.
The chukar has a red beak and a black band around its pale throat. The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is much smaller: it has mottled stripes on its back and usually hides in grass. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), by contrast, is larger, and adults have a long tail. The grey partridge (Perdix perdix) is also found in Georgia. It too lives on the ground and has a short tail, but it has no black ring on its throat and no bold vertical stripes on its sides. So the black throat band and the striped sides are how you tell a chukar from a grey partridge.
The chukar lives on dry, stony slopes with scattered shrubs. It has been seen in Kakheti and Tbilisi, but only a few times in Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samtskhe-Javakheti. The Iori Plateau, the upper Mtkvari valley, the Kvernaki Range, and the Greater and Lesser Caucasus are also named as places where it lives. It has also been reported from other mountain ranges. If you spot its nest, do not go near it.
The Chukar map uses public iNaturalist observations from Georgia. Regions come from the records-by-region table: only regions with enough records are shaded on the map; other regions have too few records. Points outside the map's regional polygons remain in the total but are not assigned to a region. Counts reflect observation effort, not population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
On rocky slopes, the chukar partridge walks more often than it flies. When startled, it takes off in a short, powerful flight. It can also be recognised by its voice: a loud, repeated call that sounds like “chuk-chuk”. It nests in Georgia and stays here year-round. The nest is on the ground. On the Iori Plateau, it starts laying eggs in April, and at higher elevations it may start later. According to general figures, it lays an average of 7–12 eggs and sits on them for 22–25 days.
Worldwide, the chukar faces a low risk of extinction: the 2016 global assessment lists it as "Least Concern". Georgia's 2024 bird checklist and other national data also rate it as "Least Concern" at the country level. It is not on Georgia's Red List. However, the 2023 management plan for Chachuna Managed Reserve lists its national status as "Endangered". So neither assessment can be treated as the chukar's definitive legal status. In Georgia, it is threatened by illegal hunting, the deterioration of its habitat and the splitting of that habitat into separate fragments.
Vojttěch Soukup (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Daria Semenova · Donsky · Titouan Roguet · Giorgi Natsvlishvili · Attila Steiner · gogopopo · wolfgang_rv
Related guides
Yes, the chukar lives in Georgia. As of 2024, it nests here and stays all year round.
The chukar partridge has been seen in Kakheti and Tbilisi. In Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Samtskhe-Javakheti, it has been seen only on isolated occasions.
It has a red beak and a pale throat outlined by a black stripe. Bold black stripes run along its sides. It is a stocky bird that often walks on rocky slopes. To recognise it, look for these features together.
Adults are usually about 34–38 cm long. On average, males are slightly larger than females.
The chukar partridge eats both plants and insects. From plants, it feeds on seeds, shoots and buds.
The partridge is much larger than the Common quail. The quail is a small, mottled bird that lives in grass. The partridge has a red beak, a black border around its pale throat, and striped sides. So you can tell the two apart by size, the red beak and the black band on the throat.
Globally, the chukar faces a low risk of extinction. In Georgia, however, the assessments disagree. The 2024 list and other national data give it a low risk here too, while the 2023 Chachuna plan lists it as endangered. It is not on the published current list of game birds. So do not take older information to mean that hunting it is permitted.
References
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
