The Dulit partridge (''Rhizothera dulitensis''), also known as Hose's partridge, has been considered a distinctive

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the long-billed partridge, a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

Phasianidae Phasianidae is a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, grouse, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hu ...

, or pheasant, family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

, where it appears to be separated altitudinally from the nominate subspecies, and is often considered now to be a full species, ''Rhizothera dulitensis''. It is little-known, rare, and has not been recorded since 1902 (the claim that it was sighted in 1937 is likely not true).Orenstein et al. (2010).

Description

The partridge is 30 cm in length. Like the long-billed partridge, it is mainly rufous-buff in colour, with a lavender-grey breast-band, a long, black, curved bill and yellow legs. It differs from the long-billed partridge in that the grey breast band is twice as wide, and the underparts are whitish-buff rather than bright orange-buff.Smythies & Davison (1998).

Distribution and habitat

The partridge is confined to lower

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

on the mountains of Borneo. It was first recorded from

Mount Dulit Mount Dulit is a mountain in Borneo. It peaks at above sea level and stands at the head of the Baram River in northern Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a western outlier of the Bornean cordillera and is largely covered with montane tropical rainfore ...

and later found on

Mount Murud Mount Murud or Muru () is a sandstone mountain located in Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia At 2,424 m (7,946 ft), it is the highest mountain in Sarawak. Geography Mount Murud at the elevation of 2,424 m, is the highest mountain in Saraw ...

and Mount Batu Song, all in northern

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. Two specimens were collected by Everett on

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

in 1895, but it has not been recorded from that state since.

Status and conservation

Orenstein ''et al.'' (2010) suggest that the partridge may be seriously threatened by habitat degradation and hunting, and that an important conservation priority is its rediscovery.

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

considers that it may have been in rapid decline because of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and degradation, and that its taxonomic status should be investigated.BLI species factsheet.

References

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3117581 Rhizothera Birds of East Malaysia Endemic birds of Borneo Birds described in 1895