Perdix perdix
May 11, 2001: East Lothian, Scotland
We hadn’t gotten far when I spotted some suspicious brownish lumps in a farmer’s field. We pulled over for a better look (fortunately, we were on a small country road with no other traffic) and I was pleased to see these two pretty little partridges. I was rather surprised to identify them as gray partridges, as they are much browner than gray, at least from my angle. They had reddish faces, drabber-colored bodies except for the distinctive dark red belly patch. Kevin and I were both able to get nice views before the birds noticed us and flew to the back of the field. Wonderful little birds, and a great start to the holiday! A life bird not half an hour from home.
May 14, 2001: Sandwich & Pegwell Bay NNR, Kent, England
I was happy to see these birds for the second time – we saw a few pairs as we continued on this highway, which went through farmed fields, but scrubby farms, not sterile like so many more modern farms seem these days.
May 16, 2001: Driving through France, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Driving in northern France/late afternoon/Kevin, Eclipse, and I spotted these brown lumps in a farmed field, and fortunately Kevin was easily able to turn the car around so we could have a better look. After having never seen gray partridges before, I’ve certainly had good luck spotting them on this trip!
Let me know what you think!