WINTER FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF THE PARTRIDGE (PERDIX PERDIX) IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIE

Abstract

From original plantings in Alberta in 1908 and 1909, partridges have spread throughout the Canadian prairie belt and into adjoining parts of the United States, in spite of rigorous winters experienced in the new habitat. At least part of the explanation of this remarkable success in acclimatization lies in a major change in choice of food coupled with abundance of preferred foods in the prairies. In winter, partridges in Europe feed mainly on green foliage, but in the Canadian prairie hardly any green is eaten. Instead, waste grain and weed seeds, both rich in protein, form the diet, amounting to 69 and 25% respectively. Of total winter food, oats make up 27%, barley 23%, and wheat 19%. Seeds from 23 species of weeds are eaten, but three species (Galeopsis tetrahit, Polygonum convolvolus, and Chenopodium album) make up two-thirds of this part of their diet. During winter, partridges feed throughout the day, less vigorously on cold mornings. The biggest crop examined weighed 25 g and contained 412 grains of barley. During extreme cold, partridges consume 50–75 g of grain/weed seeds per day, corresponding to 12 to 18% of their body weight. This is two to three times their daily food consumption during the summer.