Red legged partridge

[Brendan Marnell]

Early, through the windscreen,
A shaky bird in the hand
Is worth 2 partridges
In a pear tree

[J. Stephen McDonald]

Neat little bird flick. It seems right at home in your garden and gobbled down that leaf very fast. When they first introduced that species here, they called them "French Red-legged Partridge", although I don't know if that's where they actually lived originally. They look almost the same as the numerous Chukar Partridge we have living in our desert areas, but have more colors around their neck. Do you get a lot of them around your place? Do they eat more insects and slugs than they do your vegetables?

[Dale Guthormsen]

Brendan,

shot through the window???

Red Legs are a version of the chuckar Partridge. Nice close up footage!!

what camera are you using, can't remember??

[Grant Sherman]

Nice footage - was this taken in Ireland?

There are currently 7 recognised species of Alectoris partridges.

Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) breeds in Portugal, Spain, and France, and has been introduced into the UK and Ireland.

Barbary partridge (A. barbara) breeds in NW Africa

Rock partridge (A. graeca) breeds from the S Alps to Greece

Chukar (A. chukar) breeds from Turkey to Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the national bird of Pakistan.

Arabian partridge (A. melanocephala) and Philby's partridge (A. philbyi) breed in the Arabian peninsula.

Rusty-necklaced partridge (A. magna) breeds in China.

(IUCN http://www.iucnredlist.org)

In Europe, virtually no range overlap exists between the first 4 Alectoris spp. (Collins Bird Guide) The Red-legged and the Chukar have been introduced into many countries as game birds. Hybrids now occur in areas where introduced bird mix with native species.

[Brendan Marnell]

Alectoris rufa it is and if it was non-vegetarian I wish I had one in my little garden. This was one of several that emerged along the roadside every morning on a recent video/photo trip in Extremadura, Spain. Fast at scurrying into cover he would have done just that if I had lowered the car window before shooting.

Here's one my wife took through open window while it was still asleep on its roost ... seconds later its mate gave a warning from nearby and he took off like a rocket ...

Wife used Canon Digital Rebel + 75-300mm from 5 yards
I used Canon XM2 from same distance

[Per Johan Naesje]

Brendan, another rare species in my area. Nice and clear footage. I've found that sitting in a car is sometimes the best blind to capture both birds and animals.
Even though I mostly park my car and leaving for the wilderness by foot, occasionaly I have got something interesting on my way home by the car :-)

[Brendan Marnell]

This cock was standing in the middle of the road when I drove around a bend. I pulled in to the right & dropped the window. Original clip lasted 3.5 uninterrupted minutes during which he scolded me non-stop while he decided whether to cross the road ...