Scientific name: Perdix perdix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Game birds
Field characters. 29-31 cm. Has a characteristic rotund body, round head, and short, rounded wings. Orange-brown head, vermiculated grey neck and underparts, and chestnut-red outer tail-feathers; crown, nape, and upperparts brown, barred with chestnut on back, rump, and flanks. Male has a broad, horseshoe-shaped, dark brown patch on pale belly, which is almost absent in adult female. Juvenile has streaked brown underparts and neck and lacks the orange-brown and chestnut pattern of the adult bird. Flies swiftly, usually low down, with series of rapid wing-beats alternated with glides on bowed wings.
Voice. Common call is a creaking and rasping "kar-wit, kar-wit" or "kirr-ic kirr-ic".
Distribution. Common resident.
Habitat. Bird of open, agricultural country, downs, and stony heaths.
Food. Feeds mainly after dawn and before sunset. Diet consists of green leaves of grasses, cereals and clovers, grain and weed seeds.