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Species authority page

Red-legged partridge

Alectoris rufa · Upland game birds

Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa): Sandy-brown above, pinkish-buff belly, pale grey breast. White face with a prominent gorget of black streaking, cream throat. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Red-legged partridge standing on a mound in grass
Photo by Bob Frewin on Unsplash
Scientific name
Alectoris rufa
Family
Phasianidae
In North America
Introduced
Range
Native to France, Iberia and northwest Italy; naturalised in England and Wales. The page read does not describe North American populations.
Biology

How to identify it

Sandy-brown above, pinkish-buff belly, pale grey breast. [1][2]

White face with a prominent gorget of black streaking, cream throat. [1][2]

Bold rufous-and-black flank bars (typically eight to ten), red bill and eye-ring, pinkish-red legs. [1][2]

Compared with the rock partridge: Sharply defined black gorget without streaking below it; greyer back. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a red-legged partridge before you act. Compared with the rock partridge: Sharply defined black gorget without streaking below it; greyer back.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Dry lowlands such as farmland and open stony ground; ground nester. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Prefers running to flying; short flight on rounded wings [1][2]

Call: three-syllable 'ka-chu-chu' [1][2]

Seed eater; chicks rely on insects [1][2]

Forms flocks outside the breeding season [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Native to France, Iberia and northwest Italy; naturalised in England and Wales. The page read does not describe North American populations.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Wikipedia · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Wikipedia

  2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology