Barbary Partridge

Photo by Mehd Halaouate
Central Morocco, October 2004

Alectoris barbara

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

Distribution

Southern Europe and northern Africa.

Taxonomy

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

Habitat

Dry, open and often hilly country.

Behaviour

Breeding

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

Diet

The diet includes insects and seeds.

Vocalisation

Call: tree-tree-tree chehche

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. gbwf.org
3. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

External Links

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