From Opus

Photo by Mehd Halaouate
Central Morocco, October 2004

Alectoris barbara

[edit] Identification

32-35cm

• Light grey face and throat
• Broad rufous neck collar with white spots
• Dark reddish brown central crown stripe
• Blue grey shoulders and back
• Rufous-streaked white flanks
• Red legs
  

Sexes similar

[edit] Distribution

Southern Europe and northern Africa.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

Alectoris barbara has four subspecies:

• A. b. koenigi:

• North-western Morocco; introduced to Canary Islands and southern Spain

• A. b. barbara:

• Northern Morocco and northern Algeria; Sardinia (possibly introduced)

• A. b. spatzi:

• Southern Morocco to central Algeria and southern Tunisia

• A. b. barbata:

• Libya and north-western Egypt

[edit] Habitat

Dry, open and often hilly country.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a ground scrape. The 8-16 eggs are incubated for 24 days.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects and seeds.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: tree-tree-tree chehche

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. gbwf.org
3. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

[edit] External Links