The see-see partridge (''Ammoperdix griseogularis'') is a

gamebird Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

in the pheasant family

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 ...

of the order

Galliformes Galliformes is an order (biology), order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey (bird), turkeys, chickens, Old World quail, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems ...

, gallinaceous birds. This

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...

has its main native range from southeast

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

through

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

east to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is closely related and similar to its counterpart in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, the sand partridge, ''Ammoperdix heyi''. This 22–25 cm

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 ...

is a resident breeder in dry, open and often hilly country. It nests in a scantily lined ground scrape laying 8-16 eggs. The see-see partridge takes a wide variety of seeds and some insect food. See-see partridge is a rotund bird, mainly sandy-brown with wavy white and brown flank stripes. The male has a grey head with a black stripe through the eye and a white cheek patch. The neck sides are speckled with white. The head pattern is the best distinction from sand partridge. The female is a very washed-out version of the male, and is more difficult to distinguish from its relative due to the weak head pattern. Usually it is seen in pairs or, at the most, in flocks of two to four birds. But flocks of more than fifty birds have also been seen. When disturbed, see-see partridge prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings. The song is a whistled ''hwit-hwit-hwit''.

References

* ''Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse'' by Madge and McGowan, {{Taxonbar, from=Q920780 see-see partridge Birds of Afghanistan Birds of Pakistan Birds of Central Asia see-see partridge Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt