As the name implies, the gray partridge is painted very modestly. The primary color prevails on a large part of the body. The abdomen is white, it has a small reddish spot of a horseshoe-shaped shape.
The body is not a solid
gray color: this color is markedly shaded by a lot of brownish specks, of which there are especially many on the wings. As a rule, a gray partridge does not shine large: a male can weigh 500 g, while a female rarely grows to 300 g.
Most often, these birds live in dry fields, ravines, beams, meadows, steppes and copses. Often young partridges can be found even on a potato field, but much more often they feed on fields with grain crops. When autumn comes, the gray partridge moves to sections of fields overgrown with dry weeds.
In the Caucasus and southern countries, they often climb into reed beds: of course, they are far from pheasants in this regard, but birds also love thick and strong shelters.
The main difference and unique feature of partridges is that they not only do not avoid plowing and cultivation of lands, but even spread after them to previously unsettled areas. That is why they are extremely valuable for hunting.
Considering that today the gray partridge is one of the most common commercial birds, it is caught in large quantities.
As can be judged by the places of distribution, these are mainly land birds. From a distance they can be confused with domestic chickens, because most often partridges rummage in the ground and run across the field. This impression is wrong: the birds fly excellently.
Frightened from their feed, they break away from the field, making a terrible noise. Their flight is peculiar, since its trajectory is almost straight and located almost close to the ground. Given her lifestyle, it is not surprising that the gray partridge is a purely public bird, and loners can only be found in the mating season.
They are divided into pairs in early April. But here the nesting time comes no later than the second half of May, and only in the southern regions can it be earlier.
Birds never make complex nests. A place to incubate for eggs and rearing chicks is just a small hole right in the ground, at the bottom of which feathers and down rest carelessly. Partridge fecundity inspires respect, as mature females can lay up to 26 eggs at a time.
Chickens appear after three weeks. They have a brownish-yellowish color with rare black spots. Just a couple of hours after leaving the egg, the chick is already running very fast. The photo of a gray partridge in the article shows how small they are.
After a week, they already fly, as the feathers grow back at an amazing speed. Typically, when brood both parents are at the same time. For quite some time, they have been teaching the younger generation all the wisdom of survival. The male often behaves heroically, luring large predators onto himself when they are dangerously close to the nest.
In general, a bird is very characteristic of our country: even World War II veterans say that the voice of a gray partridge, heard by them in a foreign land, reminded them of their home.