The Rubeho forest partridge (''Xenoperdix obscuratus'') is a small, approximately long, boldly barred, brownish

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...

with rufous face, grey underparts, and olive-brown crown and upperparts. It has a red bill, brown

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

, and yellow legs. Both sexes are similar. It inhabits and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to forests of the Rubeho Mountains in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It was formerly considered to be a well-marked subspecies of the Udzungwa forest partridge, '' Xenoperdix udzungwensis'' of the

Udzungwa Mountains The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse ...

, but is now recognized to be specifically distinct. Its diet consists mainly of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s, and seeds. Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, limited range, and overhunting, ''Xenoperdix obscuratus'' is considered

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

, although it has not been evaluated by the IUCN separately from ''X. udzungwensis''.

Notes

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074586 Rubeho forest partridge Endemic birds of Tanzania Rubeho forest partridge Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN