Although not native to North America, the Hungarian partridge has turn out to be a welcomed sight on many western upland chook hunts. (Photo By: Drakuliren/Shutterstock.com)
Profiling one among North America’s hottest and broadly pursued upland sport birds.
The Hungarian partridge, additionally known as a “Hun” or “gray partridge,” is a well-liked sport chook species present in grassland and agricultural habitats in each the northern United States and southern Canada. A member of the pheasant household, Perdix perdix is an exhilarating sport chook that many gun canine homeowners like to pursue.
What some don’t understand is that the Hungarian partridge is a non-native species imported into the United States and Canada, primarily from Hungary and Czechoslovakia, within the late 1800s and early 1900s. While not as fashionable as one other import, the ring-necked pheasant, Huns nonetheless have loads of followers who love looking them over each pointing and flushing dogs.
Hungarian Partridge Range
A grassland chook, the Hungarian partridge’s vary within the United States reaches as far east as Wisconsin, and westward all the way in which over to the western parts of Oregon and Washington. The birds are discovered as far south as southern Nebraska, northern Missouri, and the central parts of Nevada. States which have in depth Hungarian partridge vary embody Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.
North of the border, the birds are plentiful within the southern half of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, together with a small portion of southern British Columbia. The chook’s Canadian vary additionally incorporates a small swath of southern Ontario and Quebec.
Hungarian Partridge Biology and Habitat
The Hungarian partridge is commonly described as a “portly” or “plump” sport chook sometimes between the dimensions of a robin and crow. For comparability within the sport chook world, it’s not as giant as a ring-necked pheasant however greater than a bobwhite quail. It is grey on prime, with a rusty face, tail and streaks down the aspect, together with a darkish stomach patch.
Both female and male Huns are related in measurement, reaching about 11.75 to 13 inches in size. The common Hun weighs about one pound, give or take a couple of ounces, and their wingspans are about 21 to 22 inches.
Huns primarily eat greens and seeds picked up from the bottom. Agricultural crops are amongst their favorites with corn, wheat, barley, and oats making up a typical a part of their food plan. Seeds from wild crops like sunflower, foxtail, ragweed, and Russian thistle are additionally vital meals sources. Huns typically eat bugs through the summer time months, and younger Huns eat principally bugs throughout their first few weeks of life.
Males courtroom females in May and June by standing upright and puffing out their chest feathers to show their darkish brown patch. Hungarian partridges sometimes nest on the bottom in fields or alongside hedgerows. Females lay giant clutches of eggs, sometimes round a dozen, however as much as 20 or extra in some instances have been noticed. Eggs are incubated by the feminine for 23 to 25 days earlier than hatching, and chicks can feed themselves and make quick flights in about two weeks.
Hunting the Hungarian Partridge
Like a lot of the quail species, Hungarian partridge type teams referred to as coveys, which may vary from 4 or 5 birds to nicely over a pair dozen.
Huns are mostly discovered round intensively managed farmlands the place grain crops are the first focus. The birds forage in and round agricultural fields most continuously at daybreak and nightfall. Unlike another species that head for the thick stuff to loaf through the mid-day, Huns will typically relaxation in open cowl and even in brief crop stubble through the day. Those wanting to place their gun dogs to the check and put a couple of birds within the bag are sensible to focus on agricultural crop areas with adjoining grasslands.
As with most wildlife species, Hungarian partridges are continuously discovered alongside cowl edges the place one habitat sort meets one other. For Huns, that is probably agricultural grain crops abutting pasture or grasslands, so hunters ought to begin most hunts by turning their dogs free in such areas. While Huns will typically maintain nicely for pointing dogs early within the season, by late season, pressured birds are likely to flush nicely out of gun vary. An enormous-running pointing canine is an asset when concentrating on the grey partridge, as a lot of floor have to be coated in open prairie and crop fields to find them. Hunters utilizing flushing breeds even have success by concentrating on smaller areas like corners and edges.
Season dates differ all through the Hungarian partridge’s vary, typically corresponding with seasons for pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse, and chukar. Seasons usually open in early- to mid-September, and shut late January, and even into the center of February in some western states.
Even although Huns are considerably bigger than the bobwhite, nearly any gauge shotgun is adequate to kill these birds. Since walks could be lengthy when pursuing Huns, some hunters want a 20 and even 28 gauge for the benefit of carry. Later within the season when birds get a little bit wilder, 20- or 12-gauge shotguns are helpful for taking the birds at a little bit longer vary. Number 7.5 shot is nearly excellent in most conditions, though these trying to find pheasants often kill Huns with the quantity 5s and 6s which are typically used for the more durable ring-necked pheasants.
Status of the Hungarian Partridge
The international breeding inhabitants of the Hungarian partridge is estimated at about 13 million birds, however that features the species native vary in Eurasia. Considered a species of “low concern” within the United States, farming practices have eradicated Huns in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio the place they had been as soon as frequent, and numbers elsewhere within the U.S. have regularly fallen about two p.c per yr from 1966 to 2015.
As with any species of sport chook, all the time verify the rules within the space you propose to hunt earlier than heading afield on a Hungarian partridge hunt. This will make sure you do your half in correct administration of the species, in addition to preserve you out of bother with the regulation.
