BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Grey Partridge

GREY PARTRIDGE
Perdix perdix

Conservation listings

Europe: SPEC category 3 (vulnerable)
UK: red (>50% population decline)

Long-term trend

UK, England: rapid decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

This species has declined enormously, probably because of the effects of agricultural intensification (specifically herbicides) on the food plants of young chicks' insect prey (Potts 1986). Despite years of research and the application of a Government Biodiversity Action Plan, the continuing decline shown by CBC/BBS suggests that efforts to boost the population have not yet been successful. Local extinctions are now likely to be widespread, but hidden in some areas by continuing releases of birds onto shooting estates.

Table of population changes for Grey Partridge

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert	Comment
CBC/BBS UK	35	1967-2002	106	-86	-91	-81	>50
	25	1977-2002	118	-88	-91	-83	>50
	10	1992-2002	205	-43	-52	-31	>25
	5	1997-2002	242	-27	-36	-18	>25
CBC/BBS England	35	1967-2002	94	-87	-91	-84	>50
	25	1977-2002	105	-88	-92	-85	>50
	10	1992-2002	181	-41	-54	-30	>25
	5	1997-2002	214	-24	-35	-17
BBS UK	9	1994-2003	210	-39	-49	-27	(>25)
BBS England	9	1994-2003	184	-32	-43	-19	(>25)

Productivity information is not currently available for this species


	BTO Home \| JNCC Home BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK. © British Trust for Ornithology (Registered Charity Number 216652). Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Statement Email:
This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006