Birds · Galliformes · Phasianidae

Chukar

Alectoris chukar

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The chukar partridge is a bird of arid, stony hillsides in Asia and south-eastern Europe, very like the Spanish red-legged partridge but with more strongly barred flanks. It has been introduced on a large scale as a game bird in North America, New Zealand and Hawaii, and in Spain its release for shooting has caused a serious problem of hybridisation with the native red-legged partridge.

Weight

565 g – 650 g

Size

32 cm – 35 cm

Lifespan

6 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

In Spain its release for shooting has genetically contaminated the red-legged partridge: the hybrids are fertile and many Iberian populations already carry chukar genes, a textbook case of genetic pollution through game restocking.
Chicks only a few days old climb slopes of more than forty degrees by beating their wings as they run, a movement called wing-assisted incline running that has been proposed as a model for how flight may have originated in dinosaurs.
Its name is onomatopoeic in several Asian languages, after the chuk-chuk-chukar it repeats from the hillsides.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Arid stony hillsides, high-altitude scrub and rocky steppe of Asia and south-eastern Europe
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 24 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 12 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alectoris_chukar