Alectoris rufa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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.
The red-legged partridge was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tetrao rufus. Linnaeus designated the type locality as southern Europe but this is now restricted to northern Italy. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "red" or "rufous". The red-legged partridge is now one of seven partridge species placed in the genus Alectoris that... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Parc animalier de Sainte-Croix | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Zoológico de Sáenz Peña | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Twycross Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Kecskeméti Vadaskert | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Partridge sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 122 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 91st most-seen of the 140 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Partridge in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-legged Partridge sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Red-legged Partridge sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 20%), Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Phasianidae
The closest relatives of the Red-legged Partridge that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Ring-necked Pheasant (about 30%), Eurasian Black Grouse (about 20%) and Willow Grouse (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-legged Partridge is recorded against all the birds logged in Cairngorms National Park (122 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
