CreatureData

Black partridge

Melanoperdix niger (Vigors, 1829)

VUVulnerablebirds

The black partridge (Melanoperdix niger) is a species in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh about 280 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Black partridge (Melanoperdix niger)
Photo: Vigors, 1829 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black partridge

Weight
280 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black partridge live?

Not recorded

What is the black partridge?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black partridge (Melanoperdix niger), also known as the black wood partridge, is a small (up to 27 cm long) partridge with a thick bill, grey legs and dark brown iris. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Melanoperdix.

The black partridge is sexually dimorphic. The male has entirely glossy black plumage and a black bill, while the female is generally a chestnut-brown bird with a whitish throat and belly and a dark horn-coloured bill. The female is smaller than the male.

The black partridge occurs in lowland rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra in southeast Asia. It was formerly found in, but is now long extinct, in Singapore. The female usually lays five to six white eggs.

Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and overhunting in some areas, the black partridge is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Malaysia.

From the Wikipedia article “Black partridge” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_partridge&oldid=1377035833), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black partridge endangered?

The black partridge is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the black partridge classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyPhasianidae
  6. genusMelanoperdix
  7. SpeciesMelanoperdix niger (Vigors, 1829)

Synonyms Melanoperdix nigra, Perdix aeruginosus

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Black wood-partridgeEnglish
  • حجل أسودArabic
  • حجل الخشب الأسودArabic
  • perdiu negraCatalan
  • koroptev černáCzech
  • Sort SkovvagtelDanish
  • SchwarzwachtelGerman
  • nigra perdrikoEsperanto
  • Perdiz negraSpanish
  • Perdiz de Bosque NegraSpanish
  • nõgikanaEstonian
  • mustapyyFinnish
  • Rouloul noirFrench
  • Perdrix noireFrench
  • חוגלה שחורהHebrew
  • crna trčkaCroatian
  • fekete erdeifogolyHungarian
  • Puyuh hitamIndonesian
  • Pernice neraItalian
  • クマシャコJapanese
  • juodoji kurapkaLithuanian
  • Zwarte BospatrijsDutch
  • svarthøneNorwegian
  • czarnopiórPolish
  • perdiz-pretaPortuguese
  • perdiz-do-mato-pretaPortuguese
  • Чёрная куропаткаRussian
  • kurička čiernaSlovak
  • Crna jarebicaSerbian
  • svarthönaSwedish
  • Kara KeklikTurkish
  • куріпка чорнаUkrainian
  • 黑鶉Chinese
  • 黑鹑Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black partridge

Other species in the same family Phasianidae.

CompareBlack partridge vs Common quailBlack partridge vs Indian peafowlBlack partridge vs Western capercaillieBlack partridge vs Common pheasant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black partridge?

An adult black partridge weighs 280 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black partridge endangered?

The black partridge is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the black partridge?

The black partridge (Melanoperdix niger) belongs to the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black partridge (Melanoperdix niger). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-partridge

MLA

“Black partridge (Melanoperdix niger).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-partridge.

BibTeX
@misc{black_partridge_2026,
  title = {Black partridge (Melanoperdix niger)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-partridge},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}