Grey partridge
Perdix perdix
Kuzey Işık · Dodurga Mahallesi Kume Evleri
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 30–33 cm
- Diet
- Seeds, leaves and insects
- Status in Georgia
- Resident
- Recorded regions
- Mtskheta-Mtianeti; Samtskhe-Javakheti; Adjara
- Habitat
- Meadow and field
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Conservation
- Global: LC (2022)
The grey partridge (Perdix perdix), გნოლი in Georgian, is a medium-sized gamebird of open grassland and fields. It is 30–33 cm long. Its face and throat are orange, its breast grey, its flanks barred with chestnut, and in flight it shows a rusty tail. The male has a dark horseshoe-shaped patch on the belly. It lives on the ground and, when flushed, takes off with whirring wings. It is harmless to people. In Georgia it is a native resident. There are few records of it: a specimen is known from around Stepantsminda in Kazbegi Municipality, and public observations come from Samtskhe-Javakheti, near the Baghdati Municipality border, and from Kobuleti Municipality. Globally its extinction risk is low, although its numbers are falling. In Georgia it is assessed as at low risk.
Identification
Grey partridge: how to identify it
A medium-sized, round ground bird with an orange face, a grey breast and a rusty tail. It lives in coveys and is seen on the ground in fields. It is most often confused with the chukar.
It is 30–33 cm long and weighs about 390–500 g. The face and throat are orange, the neck and breast grey with fine barring. The flanks have broad chestnut bars and the back is mottled brown. In flight the rusty tail shows. It flies with fast wingbeats and short glides.
The male has a dark chestnut horseshoe-shaped patch on the belly. In the female this patch is small or missing, and the face and throat are paler, buff-brown. The male is slightly larger than the female.
The chukar has a red bill and legs, a black band from the eye to the throat and black-and-white bars on the flanks. It lives on dry, rocky slopes. The grey partridge has no red bill or legs and no black band. The common quail is much smaller and has no orange face or grey breast.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
The grey partridge lives in open country: steppe, meadows, fields and low scrub, from sea level up to about 2,600 m. It does best on farmland that is not intensively worked, with small fields divided by grassy strips and hedges. It avoids forest. In the Caucasus it moves down from the mountains to the foothills in October and November. In Georgia it is a native resident. A specimen is known from around Stepantsminda in Kazbegi Municipality. There are two public observations: in Kobuleti Municipality in October 2023 and in Samtskhe-Javakheti, near the Baghdati Municipality border, in September 2026. These are single records, and its distribution in Georgia is still poorly described.
The grey partridge map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. So far no region has enough records: these are single observations, and its distribution in Georgia is poorly described.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It feeds mainly on plants: seeds of cereals and weeds, and leaves of clover and grasses. It also eats insects. Insects matter most for the chicks, so in springs when fields hold few insects, more chicks die.
It lives on the ground and does not perch in trees. Outside the breeding season it moves in coveys of 6–15 birds. When threatened it first hides on the ground, then bursts up noisily on whirring wings and flies low. It is mainly resident, though in winter it may move down from the mountains. Pairs form in late winter and early spring. The nest is on the ground: a hollow lined with grass at the base of scrub or dense plants. It usually lays 13–16 eggs. The female incubates for 23–25 days. The chicks leave the nest soon after hatching and follow their parents, and they start to fly at 14–16 days old. It breeds once a year but may lay again if a nest is lost.
Globally the grey partridge is assessed as Least Concern (LC, 2022), but its numbers are falling: by 10–19% over 2015–2025. The number of mature birds is estimated at about 3.3–5.3 million. In Europe it has declined in almost every country since the early 20th century. The causes are more intensive farming, loss of nesting cover, predators, and herbicides and pesticides that reduce insects in spring. It is hunted in many countries, and harsh winters also reduce its numbers. It is not on Georgia's 2014 Red List. An updated assessment from 2021, not yet approved, rates it Least Concern (LC) in Georgia, with a stable trend.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. It is a native resident in Georgia. There are few records of it, though, and its distribution is still poorly described.
A specimen is known from around Stepantsminda in Kazbegi Municipality, and there are observations from Kobuleti Municipality and from Samtskhe-Javakheti, near the Baghdati Municipality border. Look in open meadows and fields along the edge of scrub.
The chukar has a red bill and legs and a black band from the eye to the throat. The grey partridge has an orange face and a grey breast, and the male has a dark horseshoe-shaped patch on the belly.
It is 30–33 cm long and weighs about 390–500 g.
On the ground, in a grass-lined hollow at the base of scrub or dense plants. It usually lays 13–16 eggs, which hatch after 23–25 days.
Seeds of cereals and weeds, leaves of clover and grasses, and insects. The chicks depend especially on insects.
The grey partridge is harmless to people. Globally its extinction risk is low, although its numbers are falling. It is not on Georgia's 2014 Red List. Do not disturb its nest or chicks.
References
What this profile is based on
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.
