Red-legged Partridge Call MP3s
This recording captures the Red-legged Partridge's distinctive chukka-chukka call, handy for scouting coveys or practising ahead of a driven or walked-up shoot.
Also known as
Recordings (5)
About this species
The Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a ground-dwelling gamebird of around 34 cm — warm-toned with a black-speckled necklace breaking onto the breast. It favours warm, bushy farmland, vineyards, hedges and scrubby slopes.
It gives a steam-engine chuffing and a sharp 'ko-chak' when flushed. It feeds on seeds, leaves, shoots and insects scratched from dry ground. It lives in coveys that prefer to run uphill and only burst into flight at the last moment. A cornerstone of the traditional walked-up and driven shooting season, it remains one of the most sought-after gamebirds of the European countryside.
Legal use
Red-legged Partridge is native to south-western Europe — Spain, Portugal and France — where it remains a major quarry species, especially on driven shooting estates in Spain (seasons there commonly run mid-September to March, with exact dates set by province/estate). It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century and is now extensively released and shot there too, with an open season generally running from 1 September to 1 February (31 January in Northern Ireland) under general licence conditions. Regulations, released-bird rules and season dates differ between these countries and elsewhere the species has been introduced, so confirm current requirements and see our full country-by-country disclaimer.