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See-see Partridge
See-see Partridge
Scientific name: Ammoperdix griseogularis
Morphological characteristics:
Length: 22-25 cm
Wingspan: 40-42 cm
Identification characteristics: a gamebird similar to Chukar, but smaller, male and female are different, without seasonal changes. The male has a black forehead and eyebrow, white eye-stripe with white spots on the sides and back of the neck and five to seven white, black and cinnamon bars on the flanks. The female has brighter khaki wings than male, without eye-stripe and the bars on the flanks. Juvenile are more similar to males, but with less distinct patterns.
Diet:
feeds on seeds and roots of the plants and insects like ants, beetles and flies.
Biological characteristics:
Habitat: Prefers hills, arid and semi-arid areas, but avoids deep valleys, cliffs and dense woodlands.
Behavior: A social bird, usually seen in small groups, gathering near water to drink. Very agile, prefers running between rocks and only flies when feels danger. Mostly active at dawn and dusk and during the day, hides under boulders.
Breeding: Monogamous, nests a shallow depression in ground or in hole on cliff, lined with grass and other plant material, hidden under vegetation or rocks when on ground. Usual clutch 8-12, rarely up to 16, oval cream-white, yellowish cream to buff eggs, 35.2×25.1 mm in size. Eggs hatch in more than 21 days. Usually two clutches laid annually.1
Distribution and abundance: Very common in arid and semi-arid hills all over Iran, but absent from Caspian coasts, forested slopes of Alborz in northwest, and extensive flat sandy areas like central deserts.1
References:
1. Atlas of Birds of Iran, Mohammad Kaboli, Mansour Aliabadian, Mohammad Tohidifar, Alireza Hashemi, Seyed Babak Musavi, Cees C. Roselaar
2. https://ebird.org/species/sespar1
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See-see_partridge
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