''Ammoperdix'' is a small genus in the pheasant 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 ...

of the order

Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...

. It contains two similar species: *

See-see partridge The see-see partridge (''Ammoperdix griseogularis'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This partridge has its main native range from southeast Turkey through Syria and Iraq east to ...

, ''Ammoperdix griseogularis'' *

Sand partridge The sand partridge (''Ammoperdix heyi'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This partridge has its main native range from Egypt and Israel east to south Arabia. It is closely related a ...

, ''Ammoperdix heyi'' The see-see partridge occurs in southwest

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and the sand partridge in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Both are resident breeders in dry, open country, often in hill areas. Both

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They a ...

s in this genus are long, rotund

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 ...

s. They are mainly sandy brown, with wavy white and brown stripes on their flanks. The males have distinctively-patterned grey heads, but the females are very washed-out in comparison, and this lack of a distinctive head pattern makes it more difficult to distinguish their species. When disturbed, ''Ammoperdix'' partridges prefer to run rather than take to the air, but if necessary they will fly a short distance on rounded wings.

References

* ''Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse'' by Madge and McGowan, {{Taxonbar, from=Q695754 Bird genera Taxa named by John Gould