Abstract

The gray partridge (Perdix perdix L.) is a commercial bird species of the Central Ciscaucasia. In the steppe regions, these birds are found in cultivated gardens, vineyards, green belts along agricultural fields, roads, and railways, etc. The research objective was to study and analyze the diet of the gray partridge in different seasons in the Stavropol Region.
The study featured the food spectrum consumed by the gray partridge based on the contents of 42 stomachs and 26 crops of birds caught by hunters and hit by vehicles in various Stavropol biotopes in 2008–2021.
Gray partridges are phytophages, which means they feed mostly on plants and, to a lesser extent, on animals. Their autumn and winter diet includes green mass and wheat grains, seeds of cultivated and wild plants, and insect larvae. The gray partridge prefers weedy herbaceous plants: Polygonum aviculare, Echinochloa crus-galli, Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, and Setaria viridis.
The data obtained can be used to assess food resources of commercial bird species, in gray partridge conservation projects, and winter feeding of birds.

Keywords

Gray partridge, diet, gastroliths, spread, biotopes, feeding behavior

REFERENCES

1. Sviridova TV, Malovichko LV, Grishanov GV, Vengerov PD. Breeding conditions for birds in the nowaday farmlands of European Russia: The impact of agriculture intensification and polarization, Part II: Birds. Biology Bulletin. 2020;47(10):1425–1436. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359020100246
2. Hille SM, Schöll EM, Schai-Braun S. Rural landscape dynamics over time and its consequences for habitat preference patterns of the grey partridge Perdix perdix. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255483
3. Gée A, Sarasa M, Pays O. Long-term variation of demographic parameters in four small game species in Europe: Opportunities and limits to test for a global pattern. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. 2018;41(1):33–60. https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2018.41.0033
4. Ewald JA, Sotherton NW, Aebischer NJ. Research into practice: Gray partridge (Perdix perdix) restoration in Southern England. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 2020;8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.517500
5. Harmange C, Bretagnolle V, Sarasa M, Pays O. Changes in habitat selection patterns of the gray partridge Perdix perdix in relation to agricultural landscape dynamics over the past two decades. Ecology and Evolution. 2019;9(9):5236–5247. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5114
6. Koblik EA, Malovichko LV. Atypical color of grey partrige (Perdix perdix L.) from central Pre-Caucasis: A comparative analysis. Herald of Tver State University. Series: Biology and Ecology. 2019;54(2):59–67. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.26456/vtbio71
7. Potapov RL. Gray partridge. In: Beme RL, Grachev NP, Isakov YuA, editors. Birds of the Soviet Union. Galliformes and gruiformes. Leningrad: Nauka; 1987. pp. 24–39. (In Russ.).
8. Formozov AN. Snow cover in the life of mammals and birds. Moscow: Izdatelʹstvo MSU; 1990. 286 p. (In Russ.).
9. Bostanzhoglo VN. Ornithological fauna of the Aral-Caspian steppes. Moscow: Imperatorskiy Moskovskiy Universitet; 1911. 410 p. (In Russ.).
10. Dinnik NYa. Ornithological observations in the Caucasus. St. Petersburg: Tipografiya V. Demakova; 1886. 379 p. (In Russ.).
11. Rusanov YaS. Gray partridge. Hunting and game management. 1992;(3–4):22–23. (In Russ.).
12. Malovichko LV, Fedosov VN. Winter avifauna of the Eastern Primanychie. Little bustard. 2006;4(2):5–27. (In Russ.).
13. Galushin VM, Belik VP, Zubakin VA. Effect of the current socio-economic transformations on birds in Northern Eurasia. Proceedings of the International Conference Relevant Issues of the Research and Protection of Birds in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia; 2001; Kazanʹ. Kazanʹ: MAGARIF; 2001. p. 429–449. (In Russ.).
14. Malovichko LV, Fedosov VN, Plesnyavykh AS. Dynamics of the avifauna of the steppe Dunda tract. Fauna of Stavropol. 2005;(13):50–62. (In Russ.).
15. Barabash-Nikiforov II, Semago LL. Birds of the South-East of the Black Earth Center. Voronezh: Izdatelʹstvo Voronezhskogo universiteta; 1963. 211 p. (In Russ.).
16. Kaledin AP, Malovichko LV, Rezanov AG, Drozdova LS. Autumn and winter diet of Phasianus colchicus in the Central Ciscaucasia. Food Processing: Techniques and Technology. 2022;52(1):133–143. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21603/2074-9414-2022-1-133-143
17. Prekopov AN. The golden bee-eater in Ciscaucasia. Proceedings of the Voroshilov State Pedagogical Institute. 1940;3(2):240–442. (In Russ.).
18. Alekseev VN. Seasonal variability of the maintenance gastrolyte in stomaches of hazel grouses in Southern Urals mountains. Bulletin of Moscow Society of Naturalists. Biological Series. 2015;120(1):18–25. (In Russ.).
19. MacNally R. C. On characterizing foraging versatility, illustrated by using birds. Oikos. 1994;69(1):95–106. https://doi.org/10.2307/3545288
20. Rezanov AG. Feeding behavior of birds: Generalized method of description and ecological and geographical features. Dr. Sci. Bio. diss. Moscow: Moscow Pedagogical State University; 2000. 417 p. (In Russ.).
21. Rezanov AG. Feeding behavior of birds: Digital coding method and database analysis. Moscow: Izdat-shkola; 2000. 223 p. (In Russ.).
22. Kholodkovskiy NA, Silantʹev AA. Birds of Europe. St. Peterburg: A.F. Devriena; 1901. 636 s. (In Russ.).
23. Formozov AN, Osmolovskaya VI, Blagosklonov KN. Birds and forest pests: Role of birds in regulating the number of harmful insects in forests and forest plantations. Moscow: Izdatelʹstvo Moskovskogo obshchestva ispytateley prirody; 1950. 182 p. (In Russ.).
24. Kartashev NN. Genus Partridge. In: Dementʹev GP, Gladkov NA, editors. Birds of the Soviet Union. Moscow: Sovetskaya nauka; 1952. pp. 226–246. (In Russ.).
25. Beketov SV, Kaledin AP, Senator SA, Upelniek VP, Kuznetsov SB, Stolpovsky YuA. Zeboid cow milk: physicochemical quality indicators. Foods and Raw Materials. 2022;10(1):171–175. https://doi.org/10.21603/2308-4057-2022-1-171-175
26. Cramp S, Simmons KEL. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1979. 696 p.