We've been shooting pigeon all year and the grouse are proving as thrilling as ever. But with the 1 September upon us, it is time to turn our attention to partridge.
A decline in the grey partridge population has left them scarce, only to be found on traditional partridge manors and the opportunity to shoot wild English partridges is now only for a very lucky few. The smaller redleg partridge tends to be the main quarry of today. The redleg partridge was introduced in Britain in the 17th century from France to supplement the native grey.
Grey partridge facts
The Field’s favourite partridge facts for the new season. Credit: Peter Thompson GWCT
- In the UK, research into grey partridge ecology began in the early 1930’s.
- Male grey partridges are called ‘Cocks’, females are ‘Hens’.
- Grey partridges pair-up during February to breed and they breed during their first year. They stay together in family groups called ‘Coveys’.
- Grey partridge eggs take 25 days to incubate. The peak time for grey partridge hatching occurs around the third week of June, ‘Ascot Week’.
- The largest recorded grey partridge clutch laid by a single hen in Britain was 25, in Sussex in 1974. There hasn’t been a larger one recorded since then.
- For the 2-3 weeks after hatching, over 90% of a chick’s diet needs to be protein-rich insects and other invertebrates, not seeds.
- Grey partridge call with a harsh ‘kerr-ik’. When they are alarmed it is a rising ‘rik-rik-rik-rik’.
- Spring dispersal of grey partridge pairs happens over short distances. Many partridges spend their entire lives in the same three or four fields.
- Despite a certain popular, festive song, grey partridges do not perch in pear trees – or any other tree.
Grey partridge decline
During the first half of the 1900s, there were over 1 million pairs of grey partridge. All of them were wild birds. The exact number remains unknown because there was no official counting but game-bag records show that the largest numbers were shot between 1870 and 1930. During this period around two million grey partridges were shot annually. All of the birds were wild with no rearing and releasing (such as modern pheasant) and this was year on year with a sustainable population.
Recent estimates from the Avian Population Estimates Panel and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) suggest around 37,000 to 43,000 breeding pairs.
You might also like to read about the GWCT Partridge Count scheme.
This article was originally published in 2016 and has been updated.