Perdicinae is a

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

former subfamily of birds in the

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

family,

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular gamebirds. The family is a large one and i ...

, regrouping the

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perdic ...

Old World quail Old World quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds in the tribe Coturnicini of the pheasant family Phasianidae. Although all species commonly referred to as "Old World quail" are in the same tribe, they are paraphyleti ...

s, and

francolin Francolins are birds in the tribe Gallini that traditionally have been placed in the genus ''Francolinus'', but now commonly are divided into multiple genera. As previously defined, they were paraphyletic as the genus '' Pternistis'', which wa ...

s. Although this subfamily was considered

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

and separated from the

s, tragopans,

junglefowl Junglefowl are the only four living species of bird from the genus ''Gallus'' in the bird order Galliformes, and occur in parts of South and Southeast Asia. They diverged from their common ancestor about 4–6 million years ago. Although origi ...

s, and

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are re ...

s ''( Phasianinae)'' till the early 1990s,

molecular phylogenies Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

have shown that these two subfamilies actually constitute only one lineage. For example, some

s (

Perdix ''Perdix'' is a genus of Galliform gamebirds known collectively as the 'true partridges'. These birds are unrelated to the subtropical species that have been named after the partridge due to similar size and morphology. Taxonomy The genus ''P ...

genus) are more closely affiliated to

s, whereas

s and

s from the

Alectoris ''Alectoris'' is a genus of partridges in the family Phasianidae, closely related to Old World quail (''Coturnix'' and relatives), snowcocks ('' Tetraogallus''), partridge-francolins (''Pternistis''), bush quail (''Perdicula''), and sand and see- ...

genus are closer to

s. Due to this, the subfamily Perdicinae is no longer recognized by the

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, with the species being split among 3 subfamilies. Perdicinae is a

non-migratory Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from huntin ...

Old World group. These are medium-sized birds, and are native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. They are ground-nesting seed-eaters. The subfamily includes the

s, the snowcocks, the

s, the spurfowl and the

Species list in taxonomic order

*''

'' ** Arabian partridge, ''Alectoris melanocephala'' ** Przevalski's partridge, ''Alectoris magna'' **

Rock partridge The rock partridge or common rock partridge (''Alectoris graeca'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae, of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds). It is native to southern Europe, and is closely related and very similar to its ...

, ''Alectoris graeca'' **

Chukar partridge The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Pr ...

, ''Alectoris chukar'' ** Philby's partridge, ''Alectoris philbyi'' **

Barbary partridge The Barbary partridge (''Alectoris barbara'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of the order Galliformes. It is native to North Africa. Distribution The Barbary partridge has its main native range in North Africa, and is also na ...

, ''Alectoris barbara'' **

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 ...

, ''Alectoris rufa'' *''

Ammoperdix ''Ammoperdix'' is a small genus in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes. It contains two similar species: * See-see partridge, ''Ammoperdix griseogularis'' * Sand partridge, ''Ammoperdix heyi'' The see-see partridge occurs ...

'' **

See-see partridge The see-see partridge (''Ammoperdix griseogularis'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This partridge has its main native range from southeast Turkey through Syria and Iraq east ...

, ''Ammoperdix griseogularis'' **

Sand partridge The sand partridge (''Ammoperdix heyi'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This partridge has its main native range from Egypt and Israel east to south Arabia. It is closely related a ...

, ''Ammoperdix heyi'' *''

Arborophila ''Arborophila'' is a bird genus in the family Phasianidae. The genus has the second most members within the Galliformes after '' Pternistis'', although ''Arborophila'' species vary very little in bodily proportions with different species varying ...

'', the hill partridges ** Hill partridge, ''Arborophila torqueola'' **

Sichuan partridge The Sichuan partridge (''Arborophila rufipectus'') is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in China where it is classified as a nationally protected animal. Its natural habitat is temperate forest. It is threatened by habi ...

, ''Arborophila rufipectus'' **

Chestnut-breasted partridge The chestnut-breasted partridge (''Arborophila mandellii'') is a partridge species endemic to the eastern Himalayas north of the Brahmaputra, and occurs in Bhutan, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet at elevations from . ...

, ''Arborophila mandellii'' ** White-necklaced partridge, ''Arborophila gingica'' ** Rufous-throated partridge, ''Arborophila rufogularis'' **

White-cheeked partridge The white-cheeked partridge (''Arborophila atrogularis'') is a species of partridge in the family Phasianidae, native to Asia. Distribution and habitat It is found mainly in Northeast India, northern Myanmar, and northeast Bangladesh, inhabiting ...

, ''Arborophila atrogularis'' ** Taiwan partridge, ''Arborophila crudigularis'' ** Hainan partridge, ''Arborophila ardens'' ** Chestnut-bellied partridge, ''Arborophila javanica'' ** Grey-breasted partridge, ''Arborophila orientalis'' ** Bar-backed partridge, ''Arborophila brunneopectus'' ** Orange-necked partridge, ''Arborophila davidi'' **