The rufous-throated partridge (''Arborophila rufogularis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...

. It is found in montane forests in India and Southeast Asia. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) has assessed it as a least-concern species.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Blyth in 1849. Six subspecies are recognised: ''A. r. rufogularis'' found in northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan and southeastern Tibet; ''A. r. intermedia'' ranging from northeastern India to northern Myanmar; ''A. r. tickelli'' in eastern Myanmar, Thailand and southwestern Laos; ''A. r. euroa'' in southeastern Yunnan and northern Laos; ''A. r. guttata'' in central Vietnam and central Laos; and ''A. r. annamensis'' in south central Vietnam.

Description

The rufous-throated partridge is long. The male weighs and the female weighs . The male has a grey forehead. The olive-brown crown and nape have black mottles. There are a whitish

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...

and moustachial curves. The throat and neck-sides are orange-rufous, with black speckles. The breast and flanks are blue-grey. The upper belly is blue-grey and the central belly is whitish. The vent is buffy-brown. The mantle, back and rump are olive-brown. The scapulars and

wing covert A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

s have chestnut, black and greyish bands. The beak is dusky-brown or blackish, and the legs are pinkish or crimson. The female is similar to the male. The juvenile bird is duller below, and its crown and flanks have brown and black

vermiculation Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin ''vermiculus'' meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of ...

s. The subspecies have different patterns on their throats.

Distribution and habitat

The rufous-throated partridge is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s, mainly at elevations of . Oak forests containing laurels and rhododendrons are preferred.

Behaviour

This partridge feeds in groups of five to ten birds. It eats seeds, plant shoots, berries, insects and snails. Surprised birds run or fly, sometimes flying to branches like some

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...

. Birds in a covey roost and huddle together in trees, similar to babblers. Breeding has been recorded from April to July in India and from February to May in China. The male builds a scrape in bamboo, forest undergrowth or along water. The nest is lined or padded with grass. Three to five white eggs are laid. The rufous-throated partridge gives a rising series of ''hu-hu'' whistles. In a duet, the partner's call is ''kew-kew-kew''.

Status

The IUCN estimates that the species's population is declining because of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and unsustainable hunting, but the decline is not rapid, and the range is large, so the IUCN has assessed it as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q776309

rufous-throated partridge The rufous-throated partridge (''Arborophila rufogularis'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in montane forests in India and Southeast Asia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a ...

Birds of North India Birds of Nepal Birds of Eastern Himalaya Birds of Southeast Asia Birds of Laos Birds of Yunnan

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot