Red-legged partridge
Alectoris rufa (Linnaeus, 1758)
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a species in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 466.5 g to 527.9 g and live up to 6.23 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
Quick facts about the red-legged partridge
- Weight
- 466.5 g – 527.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 48 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 6.23 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 6.25 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 12src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the red-legged partridge?
Photos of the red-legged partridge
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the red-legged partridge live?
Not recorded
What is the red-legged partridge?
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French partridge, to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge. The genus name is from Ancient Greek alektoris a farmyard chicken, and rufa is Latin for red or rufous.
It is a rotund bird, with a light brown back, grey breast and buff belly. The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings. This is a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take insects as an essential protein supply. The call is a three-syllable ka-chu-chu.
From the Wikipedia article “Red-legged partridge” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-legged_partridge&oldid=1319530754), 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 red-legged partridge endangered?
The red-legged partridge is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the red-legged partridge classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusAlectoris
- SpeciesAlectoris rufa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Caccabis rufa, Erythropus vulgaris, Perdix atrorufa, Perdix rufa, Perdix rufipes, Rufipes picta, Rufipes vulgaris
Other names and names in other languages (59)
- French partridgeEnglish
- Red legged partridgeEnglish
- RLPAEnglish
- حجل أحمر الساقينArabic
- PerdizAragonese
- perdiz coloradaAsturian
- Червен кекликBulgarian
- Klujar ruzBreton
- perdiu rojaCatalan
- orebice rudáCzech
- Petris CoesgochWelsh
- Petrisen GoesgochWelsh
- RødhøneDanish
- RothuhnGerman
- ΚοκκινοπέρδικαGreek
- ruĝa perdrikoEsperanto
- Perdiz rojaSpanish
- lääne-kivikanaEstonian
- Eper gorriBasque
- کبک پاسرخPersian
- punapyyFinnish
- Gjørðut hønaFaroese
- Perdrix rougeFrench
- Bartavelle rougeFrench
- Patraisc chosdeargIrish
- Peurtag dhearg-chasachScottish Gaelic
- Perdiz comúnGalician
- Patrag yiarg-chassaghManx
- חוגלה אדמוניתHebrew
- riđa jarebicaCroatian
- vörös fogolyHungarian
- SandhænaIcelandic
- Pernice rossaItalian
- アカアシイワシャコJapanese
- Grugyar gar ruthCornish
- RouthongLuxembourgish
- raudonkojis keklikasLithuanian
- kalnu irbeLatvian
- Якшар кекликWestern Mari
- Siul Kaki MerahMalay
- Rode PatrijsDutch
- raudhøneNorwegian Nynorsk
- góropatwa czerwonaPolish
- لال لتا چکورWestern Panjabi
- perdiz-comumPortuguese
- perdiz-vermelhaPortuguese
- Красный кекликRussian
- Красная куропаткаRussian
- RuksesvuonccisNorthern Sami
- kuropta červenáSlovak
- španska kotornaSlovenian
- Španska kamenjarkaSerbian
- rödhönaSwedish
- Kızıl KeklikTurkish
- Kızıl Ayaklı Kınalı KeklikTurkish
- кеклик червононогийUkrainian
- 紅腳石雞Chinese
- 紅腿石雞Chinese
- 红腿石鸡Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red-legged partridge
Other species in the same genus Alectoris.
Chukar partridge
Alectoris chukar
Rock partridge
Alectoris graeca
Barbary partridge
Alectoris barbara
Arabian partridge
Alectoris melanocephala
Philby's partridge
Alectoris philbyi
Przevalski's partridge
Alectoris magna
CompareRed-legged partridge vs Chukar partridgeRed-legged partridge vs Rock partridgeRed-legged partridge vs Barbary partridgeRed-legged partridge vs Arabian partridge
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the red-legged partridge?
An adult red-legged partridge weighs 466.5 g – 527.9 g and has a wingspan of 48 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the red-legged partridge endangered?
The red-legged partridge is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
How long does the red-legged partridge live?
The red-legged partridge has a recorded lifespan of 6.23 years.
What kind of animal is the red-legged partridge?
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-partridge
“Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-partridge.
@misc{red_legged_partridge_2026,
title = {Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-partridge},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}