Alectoris

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Alectoris
Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Tribe: Coturnicini
Genus: Alectoris
Kaup, 1829
Type species
Perdix petrosa[1]
Species

See text.

Rough distributions of species in the genus Alectoris

Alectoris is a genus of

romanized: alektoris, meaning "chicken" or "farmyard fowl".[2]

Their fossils date back to the early Pleistocene, with extant representatives in southern

Arabia, and across Asia in Pakistan to Tibet and western China
.

Description

These are

juniper berries and lichens.[citation needed
]

As is typical of many galliform birds, Alectoris partridges are relatively round-bodied and small-headed. They typically have a light brown or grey back, grey breast, buff belly, and barred flanks. Several species have a whitish throat with a black border. Their specialized flank coverts give them the appearance of being more rotund than they actually are.[

ptarmigan and spruce grouse, suggesting that the birds sustain themselves in flight over substantial distances to find food.[citation needed] This probably occurs most often during winter.[citation needed
]

Introduced species and hybridisation

Some members of the genus, notably the chukar and red-legged partridge, have been introduced to many locations outside their natural range; there are now established populations of chukar in western North America, Hawaii, and the South Island of New Zealand, and of red-legged partridge in the United Kingdom, the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.

The chukar readily interbreeds with the red-legged partridge and rock partridge. The practice of breeding and releasing captive-bred chukar and hybrids between chukar and red-legged partridge has been banned in the United Kingdom, as it is a threat to red-legged partridge populations.[3][4]

Species

The genus contains seven species:[5]

Image Common Name Scientific Name Distribution
Barbary partridge Alectoris barbara North Africa, and is also native to Gibraltar and the Canary Islands
Arabian partridge Alectoris melanocephala southern Saudi Arabia, Yemen and western Oman.
Red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy and Balearic Islands
Chukar partridge Alectoris chukar Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India
Rock partridge Alectoris graeca Serbia, Albania, Italy, and France to Greece and Bulgaria
Philby's partridge Alectoris philbyi Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Przevalski's partridge Alectoris magna China(Gansu, Qinghai)

A prehistoric species, A. peii, is known from

Jordan valley), Israel
.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Phasianidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  3. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.01.014
    . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Red-legged partridge". Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  5. Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
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