Crested Partridge

This small partridge is a resident breeder in lowland rainforests in south Burma, south Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Its nest is a ground scrape lined with leaves, which is concealed under a heap of leaf litter. Five or six white eggs are incubated for 18 days.

The Crested Partridge is classified as Near Threatened (NT), is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

Crested partridges feed and nest on the ground, but roost in the trees at night (2) (5). These colourful birds can usually be seen in parties of five to fifteen individuals, foraging for food in the leaf-litter of the forest floor (4). There are reports of associations with wild pigs, with these birds feeding on discarded fragments of fruit that they would be unable to tackle whole. In addition to fruits, their diet includes seeds, large beetles, wood ants and small snails (2). More

Crested Partridge, Kirk's Francolin rovuma, Grant's Francolin grantii, Spotted Francolin spilogaster, Smith's Francolin Range: Eastern & Southern Africa - from southern Sudan, Ehtiopia and Somalia south to Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Natal. Subspecies: F. s. sephaena, F. s. zambesiae, F. s. granti, F. s. rovuma, F. s. spilogaster; rovuma was once treated as a separate species, Kirk's Francolin. Habitat: Scrublands. More