How to draw a gray partridge. Partridge bird. Partridge lifestyle and habitat. How to draw a gray partridge step by step

Since ancient times, the favorite trophy of many hunters has been the gray partridge. Today this bird, the meat of which is considered a real delicacy, is increasingly being bred at home.

Description

This small resident bird of the pheasant family is a close relative of ordinary domestic chickens, inferior to them in size. The body of the partridge has a round shape and does not exceed 35 cm in length, weight ranges from 350 to 600 grams.

The color of the plumage and the size of the birds may differ depending on the area in which the gray partridge lives.

The description of the appearance of the male and female is very similar - gray plumage with a scattering of transverse dark specks and brown stripes on the sides. At first glance, their colors are almost the same, but there are still some features. A significant distinguishing feature can be considered a large brown spot located on the chest of the male. In the female it appears with age, but looks smaller and much paler. Its plumage is darker, and its tail becomes almost red in summer. Males are larger in size than females. The color of gray partridges does not change throughout the year.

Habitats

Gray partridge lives in the southern regions of Russia, as well as in many European countries - Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, etc. Meadows, ravines overgrown with bushes, fields are the main places where this bird prefers to settle. You can also find it in swampy areas if there are trees with islands of land rising above the water. Avoiding dense forest, the partridge settles on the edges, in small groves, wherever there are thickets of bushes, which serve as a reliable shelter for these birds from enemies.

A peculiarity of gray partridges is their attachment to one place of residence. The chosen territory becomes their permanent place of residence. They feed here, build nests, hatch chicks, which, in turn, spend their entire lives here.

Habits and behavioral characteristics

The gray partridge spends most of its life on the ground. Photos of these birds captured in flight are rare.

Although they fly quite well, they prefer to flee from their enemies. The gray color of the birds is also a good camouflage, thanks to which they blend well with the surrounding area. These birds are excellent at hiding, using any depressions in the soil for this purpose. An amazing feature of partridges is their ability to swim. Sometimes you can watch how, escaping from enemies, a whole brood of them easily swims across a body of water.

The gray partridge is a very smart and cautious bird, capable of sensing approaching danger from afar. These birds are quite peaceful. Only in situations where it is necessary to defend their territory and nest, males may clash. But on the other hand, these selfless birds are able to take under their wing other people’s chicks, who for some reason have become orphaned. Partridges are very good and caring parents, carefully protecting their brood.

Partridges can have more than two dozen chicks, all of them of different ages. The reason is that the female lays only one egg per day, immediately starting to hatch them.

These birds gather in flocks only closer to winter, and with the onset of spring they again break into pairs.

Enemies of partridges

These include almost all four-legged predators, including stray dogs and cats. They systematically comb the meadows and steppes, looking for nests where they can profit from eggs and chicks. Partridges and feathered predators are constantly pursuing them. Hawks, kites, crows, and sparrowhawks hunt both young and adult partridges.

Another danger is posed by poachers who hunt birds using various prohibited methods. For these reasons, today the gray partridge is on the verge of extinction. The Red Book does not yet include these birds in its list, but hunting organizations should organize measures to protect partridges.

Features of breeding at home

Partridges are reared to obtain dietary food products - eggs and meat. There are no particular difficulties with this, since these birds easily adapt to new living conditions and are quite unpretentious. They have very good immunity and can even withstand cold weather. But from infectious diseases still not insured.

Danger awaits them from predators. To protect partridges from hawks, kites and others who want to feast on tender meat, it is imperative to create a protective shelter in the form of an aviary or shrubs planted on the site.

Premises requirements

Home breeding of gray partridge requires mandatory arrangement suitable premises. Its size should correspond to the number of birds kept. So, there should not be more than three of them per square meter. For overnight stays, as a rule, a closed room (barn, log house) is equipped. The floor is covered with straw and all cracks are carefully sealed, since the gray partridge is very sensitive to drafts. It is worth stretching the net under the ceiling, because when flying, the birds can hit the wooden flooring and get injured.

Like all other birds, partridges love Fresh air. Therefore, the presence of high enclosures covered with mesh is mandatory. Bushes are placed inside them, sheaves and fir trees are placed, which will serve as a shelter for the birds. In order to be able to hide from bad weather, they make a small canopy, closed on one side. The enclosure should have drinking bowls, feeders, and containers with sand.

Feeding partridges

Having gotten used to wildlife for a certain type of food, gray partridge at home requires slightly different food than other birds.

The diet of these birds largely depends on the time of year. So, in winter period The most suitable mixture is considered to be one consisting of grain feed (25 g), vegetables such as carrots, cabbage (9 g), minced meat or cottage cheese (2 g) with the addition of vitamins and mineral supplements. Partridges are very fond of lingonberries, rowan berries, and viburnum. Therefore, it is worth taking care and stocking up on them for the winter.

A month before the start of egg laying, birds are transferred to a special diet intended for the breeding period. It contains more carrots, greens, and vitamins. In addition, fish and meat and bone meal, feed yeast, chalk or shells are added to the feed. Twice a month, dilute water with potassium permanganate until it turns light pink.

Birds need to be fed 2 times a day - in the morning and after lunch. The quantity of food should be so large that it is eaten without any residue, otherwise its quality will be lost. One bird eats approximately 30 g per day. The gray partridge is not very willing to eat boiled potatoes, beets, barley grains, oats, and wheat bread. Feeders should be placed under a canopy that protects them from sun and rain.

Hatching chicks

The partridge begins laying eggs in May. The egg is usually up to 33 mm long, pear-shaped and greenish-brown in color. A nest is prepared in advance from an old basket or tall box measuring 30x30 cm so that the chicks cannot subsequently jump out of it. The bottom is covered with straw or hay. Such a nest needs to be installed in a dry, ventilated room, where all cracks and holes through which rats, cats or ferrets can enter are first sealed.

The period of incubation of chicks lasts from 21 to 24 days. The chicks are born very independent and immediately begin to explore the world around them, starting to run as soon as they dry off.

Caring for chicks

A day after all the chicks hatch, they are transplanted together with their mother into a cage consisting of two compartments. A hen with chicks is placed in one, and the other, in the form of a mesh-covered cage without a bottom, is used to later take the chicks outside when the weather permits. The cage is installed among short grass, giving the birds the opportunity to develop in conditions as close as possible to natural ones. They learn to independently search for insects, worms and other food. On hot days, the cage must be shaded from the sun.

The menu for chicks on the first day of life consists of a hard-boiled yolk, with the addition of finely chopped nettles, cabbage, dandelion and yarrow for the second feeding. The next day, add some white bread in the form of crumbs to this mixture. Gradually, ground lean meat, fresh cottage cheese, and a paste of eggs and milk are included in the diet. Ant eggs are very useful. Babies are fed at least twice a day.

A month later, when the chicks have matured and are already able to fly, they are separated from the hen.

Everyone has heard about partridges. These are small birds that lovers of this craft love to hunt, as well as an original addition to the household. Today you will learn about what makes the partridge special - the photos and videos in this article will help you figure it out.

The main places where these birds live are Portugal, as well as the coast of England and Altai. In the north they can be found near the White Sea, and on the eastern and southern edges - in Asia Minor and Iran. Partridges are most often found in steppe lands and fields.

For normal living, it is important for these chickens to have bushes and forest edges. They avoid dense forests, but small open areas with tall grass suit them best. They use these places for nesting, as can be seen in the photos and videos.

As a rule, such a bird lives for a long time in one territory, and only a few factors, such as lack of food, can force it to leave its habitat. The gray type of partridge prefers to lead a gregarious lifestyle. This continues in autumn and winter, after which they split into pairs. This occurs in the spring, when it is time for reproduction.

Appearance

These birds are small in stature and neat in build, as can be seen in the photos and videos. The length of one chicken is up to 35 cm, and the whole varies up to 500 grams. What they look like directly depends on the type of bird.

• The male Southern Partridge has grayish plumage. The exception is the abdomen, which has a whitish tint. It has a small spot that visually resembles a horseshoe and is brown in color.

It may be noted that the female partridge is somewhat smaller in size, and her plumage color is slightly duller than that of the male. At a young age, she does not have an underbelly spot, which helps to distinguish the chicks by gender early enough. It appears during puberty.

In summer, females acquire reddish plumage. Both sexes have a brown head color, and at the back of the head it becomes a more saturated shade, as demonstrated in the video. The entire surface of the body has small light specks at the tips of the feathers.

• But in northern species, the plumage differs at different times of the year. In winter, the Tundra partridge, or as it is also called the Tailless partridge, has entirely white feathers. By the warmer time of year, it changes color to a more earthy, brown. Also distinctive feature What distinguishes such birds is the presence of red “eyebrows” on the males, which makes them look like the Grouse breed, which is not observed in the females.

• has a specific gray plumage, which has brown stripes and an expressive pattern on the chest.
• But the Stone Bird got its name due to the colors of dark and gray tones, which have a pronounced contrast.
• Ptarmigans have not only white plumage with black “rims” around the eyes, but also the presence of feathers on their paws, which helps them move through thick snow.

What do bird eggs look like?

Partridge eggs have a rather specific appearance, which is demonstrated in the photo and video. They have an olive tint to the shell, closer to clayey. On them, like on the feathers of the birds themselves, there are small inclusions, but of a dark color. Partridge eggs are very small, one reaches only 10 grams, but in one clutch there can be up to 25 pieces. Their eggs are famous for their beneficial properties, therefore they are used every day in many areas.

These birds have a lot of interesting properties, which can be seen in the video. For example, the way birds feed in cold weather is unusual. In winter, when food is under thick snow, partridges have to actively rake the snow with their paws in order to extract seeds and plant roots from the ground.

Fact 1

If there is a threat, partridges fall into dyskinesia - they become numb. This is a defensive reaction they are in until the enemy leaves.

Appearance partridges In many ways it is similar to a chicken; it grows up to 35 centimeters in length and reaches a weight of half a kilogram. The main part of the bird's life is on the ground, hiding in thick grass. She can develop decent speed when running, maneuvering among the bushes. It uses its wings only for feeding and avoiding emergency dangers.
Appearance of a partridge
The plumage of partridges is very modest, usually gray, the belly is colored White color. It has a spot resembling a horseshoe, brown in color; both sexes have a similar mark, but in females it appears only at the age of reproduction. The body is covered with speckled patterns. At the same time, males and females differ little; sexual dimorphism has not received proper development among partridges. Females are slightly smaller in size and less saturated in color. They can also be recognized by the presence of red feathers in the tail in summer.
Partridge habitat
The partridge lives over a large territory, the borders of which are Portugal, Great Britain, Altai, the White Sea, Iran and Asia Minor. It is within this area that this genus is found. They make nests in fields, meadows, and steppes. They prefer open spaces with bushes, ravines and extensive beams. There are cases when birds feed on farmers' plots where millet, oats or potatoes are sown.
By autumn, these birds move to the forest-steppe, places of dense weeds and to the edges of forests, where they will be relatively well protected from enemies.
Partridges gravitate toward a sedentary lifestyle, living in one territory. Only a lack of food forces them to leave their habitable area and go in search of a more profitable place. Migration is poorly tolerated by the bird, adding to its excessive timidity and caution.
Partridge feeding
The main summer diet of birds consists of plant foods. In autumn, they feed on grass seeds. When the harvest approaches, partridges fly to the place of grain procurement, and then to the fields with corn and beets. Birds also eat flaxseeds and sunflower seeds. Just before the cold weather, they have to scour the steppes and weeds to find food. The young animals are ready to eat any insects.
Birds feed in the early mornings or long evenings. During the day, they do not get out of dense thickets to avoid attacks by predators.

Partridge breeding
Partridges are characterized by gregarious activity in autumn and winter. And before breeding, they find a mate. These birds are monogamous. Males are involved in caring for the offspring. During mating games, they characteristically scream, spreading these sounds throughout the area. This is how birds call each other. Established pairs occupy certain areas and create nests.
The nests of partridges are specific; they are small depressions directly on the ground. At their bottom there are blades of grass and small plants. The nest can reach a quarter of a meter in diameter and eight centimeters in depth. Birds build it in May, and chicks appear in June. The clutch can contain a different number of eggs: from 9 to 25 pieces of grayish-brown color. Incubation time is 20-24 days. At this time, the female leaves only for short-term feeding, while the male is busy guarding. If a threat arises, parents may leave the nest and return to it later.
All the chicks will see the light at the same time, that is, they will definitely hatch within 24 hours, and are immediately ready to explore the world. Young partridges active and mobile, following their parents straight out of their shells. A week after birth, they acquire the ability to take off, and after another seven days they flutter quite freely. At 1.5 months, the former chicks grow to the size of adults.

If under any circumstances one parent dies, the second takes care of the brood independently. In the event of the death of both parents, the chicks join another immediate family, which is ready to receive a new addition at any time.
When an enemy approaches, partridges can behave differently. They either rise into the air as a whole family and cover some distance, or they take off in groups and fly into different directions, hiding in the bushes. After eliminating the danger, the family returns to “home” until the next emergency.

If you liked our site, tell your friends about us!

How to draw a Partridge.

There are about five varieties of partridges. But two are enough for us - a gray partridge and a white partridge (tundra, arctic).

Partridges are Galliformes and are related to quails and pheasants. But unlike pheasants, partridges look very simple. Nothing superfluous at all, no decorations. Sometimes I read articles on the Internet like “how to draw a bird in eight simple steps”, but a partridge does not need these eight steps, it can be drawn in four steps EASILY.

How to draw a gray partridge step by step

1) Pencil sketch

2)Draw an oval body:

3) The neck is strong, conical. The head is small with a tiny slightly curved beak and large, keen eyes:

4) The wings are small (partridges can fly, but they really don’t like them). The legs of these partridges are slender and featherless:

And the characteristic motley-rusty coloring:

Yes-ah-ah, I stretched it out over five whole stages. Well, it’s okay, the lesson on how to draw an Arctic partridge will be really short.

The bird is almost the same shape:

Drawing the torso:

The gray partridge looks like a small chicken, its body length reaches about 30 cm, weight about 400 grams. The bird rarely flies only if it is in danger and in case of replenishment of food supplies. Basically, it spends most of its time on the ground; dense vegetation of grasses and shrubs serves as protection from predators. The partridge has developed leg muscles, so it runs quickly and overcomes obstacles well.

What does the bird look like?

From the name it becomes clear that the bird’s plumage is grayish, so its appearance is quite modest. Only the abdomen is painted white, back, wings and tail are gray. On the abdomen the adult has a spot resembling a horseshoe, colored brown. Young females do not have such a distinctive feature. Sexual characteristics are weakly expressed: the female is slightly smaller in size and her plumage is duller than that of the male. The spot appears when the female reaches sexual maturity and is ready to breed. You can distinguish a female from a male by its tail; in the summer, females develop red feathers.

The head of both sexes is brownish-brown, with a richer dark color on the crown and back of the head. The plumage of the entire partridge has a pattern of small specks and spots.

Habitats

The partridge is found over a wide area:

• From the North of Portugal and the coast of England to Altai. These birds no longer settle beyond the Ob River.
• Towards the north, partridges live up to the White Sea.
• In the south and east they live up to the borders of Iran and Asia Minor.

Gray partridges are building a nest V open area fields, steppes or meadows. They prefer open spaces with bushes, ravines, and wide beams. Sometimes flocks of partridges fly in to feast on oats, millet or potatoes, which are rich in farm areas.

In autumn, gray partridges move to the forest-steppe, prefer a landscape with dense weeds, and settle on forest edges, avoiding thickets. Tall grass and bushes serve as a refuge for her from enemies.

resident bird. Her entire life passes in approximately the same territory. Only the lack of food forces her to leave her inhabited areas and go in search of food. It does not tolerate such migrations easily; forced relocations turn the gray partridge into a very timid bird.

In winter and autumn it leads a gregarious lifestyle. In the spring, during the breeding season, gray partridges break into pairs. Each pair has its own site for building a nest.

Classification

There are three species in the genus of gray partridges:

• Gray,
• bearded,
• Central Asian.

The appearance of the gray partridge and bearded partridge is very similar. That is why they are often combined into one. Representatives of these species have become victims of hunting and Agriculture, so there are few of them left.

Central Asian partridge lives on the vast territory of the Tibetan plateau. The color of its feathers is significantly different from its relatives: on the front of the head the plumage is white with two characteristic bright black spots, the chest is in dark stripes. Bird populations are stable and numbers are not decreasing.

Nutrition

In summer, the bird mainly feeds on plant foods. Autumn is harvest time, so partridges fly to grain harvesting lands, after which they move to fields with beets and corn, and also feast on sunflower and flax seeds. Weed seeds are also used. In late autumn, fruits and grains found in meadows, steppes or weeds act as food. Young individuals feed only on insects.

Flocks of partridges make feeding flight early in the morning. During the day and evening, birds hide in places that are difficult for predators to reach, for example, in thickets.

Reproduction

Gray partridges are monogamous. Male accepts Active participation in raising offspring. The mating season is accompanied by a characteristic cry that spreads over large areas. With this exclamation, partridges attract the attention of their relatives, and also take off with it.

The nest is a small depression in the ground. Birds place plants at the bottom of the hole. The diameter of the dwelling is about 20 cm, the depth is approximately 7 cm. The nest is built in May. The chicks hatch in early June. The pair builds its nest in a safe place, hidden from the eyes of enemies. It is found in dense thickets, tall grass, and forest edges. The clutch consists of 10-25 eggs of a grayish-brown color. The shape has sharp and blunt ends. The female lays eggs at intervals of one day. The female incubates the eggs for approximately 23 days, leaving rarely and only briefly to feed. The male is always nearby, guarding the female and the clutch; in case of danger, both leave the nest, but always return when it has passed.

Offspring hatch in one day and immediately begins to lead an active lifestyle, without even having time to dry off. They can already follow their parents even at a distance of up to 200 m. The chicks reach adult size by one and a half months.

At the age of one week they can already fly for a short time, and at 14 days they can already travel long distances in the air. If one of the parents dies, the second parent takes care of the family. If both die, the entire brood is taken into the care of another family, which is always ready to accept new members.

When a family is in danger, they act differently: they can fly up and, after flying some distance, descend. If a predator threatens to attack, members of the family fly up and split into groups, then hide in the bushes. When the predator retreats, the male unites the chicks into a flock again.

Enemies of partridge

The bird's natural enemies are: kites, gyrfalcons, owls, foxes, ferrets, arctic foxes, manulas and many others. Therefore, the life of a partridge is short - it barely lives to be 4 years old.

So, the gray partridge bird is distributed over quite vast territories; it remains to winter at home, since it does not tolerate forced migrations well. Makes a nest in the thick of grass and bushes, hiding from predators. Raising numerous offspring lies on the shoulders of both parents; the chicks quickly grow and become stronger, since in another situation the population will quickly disappear, since the partridge has many enemies.

Partridge bird