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PLATE 6: PARTRIDGES, FRANCOLIN AND QUAILS
Chukar Partridge Alectoris chukar RB
L: 33. A distinctive plump gamebird; grey-brown with striped flanks. Bill and legs red. Wary, runs
fast; usually in small flocks. Voice Characteristic accelerating ka-ka-kaka-kaka-kaka... followed by
a chuckling chukara-chukar-chukara-chukar, frequent at dawn and dusk especially. Habitat Rocky
slopes and hillsides, semi-deserts, agricultural land; from sea level to 3,000m, occasionally higher.
Note Native to Musandam but not found elsewhere in Oman.Arabian Partridge Alectoris melanocephala RB
L: 36. Larger than Chukar Partridge but ranges do not overlap. Black crown and long, broad
supercilium also separate it from Chukar. Juvenile, which lacks flank-bars and gorget, is grey-brown
above, grey-buff below, and lightly pale-spotted all over. Most often in small flocks; usually escapes
danger on foot. Voice Typically kok, kok, kok, kok, kok, chok-chok-chok chook beginning as separate
notes, then accelerating and descending; also a rapid chuk-chuk chuk chuk chuk; a loud throaty crook
and conversational, soft croo, croo, croo, croo. Often heard during the day. Habitat Rocky slopes with
bushes, from sea level to 2800m. Note Common in S Oman, uncommon N Oman.Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi RB
L: 24. W: 40. Larger than Common Quail, but much smaller than Chukar Partridge. Runs nimbly over
rocks; wings whirr noisily in flight. Male has white patch on forehead and behind eye, but lacks
black head markings of extralimital See-see. Male of subspecies intermedius, occurring in Arabia, is
dark pinkish-cinnamon above (fading sandier when worn); flanks heavily banded black and chestnut.
Both sexes show chestnut outer tail feathers in flight. Female and immature are uniform sandy-grey.
Often forms crèches, with large flocks arriving on foot to drink from small pools. Voice Commonest
call is a repeated, metronomic, qwei, qwei, qwei; alarm call wit-wit in flight. Habitat Desolate, arid
rocky and stony slopes, wadis and cliffs. Note Fairly common in Oman, but avoids Empty Quarter.Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus RB
L: 30. Rather drab, stub-tailed, greyish-brown gamebird separated from slightly larger female Black
Francolin by much finer mottling and barring on upper- and underparts, with chestnut forehead
and cheeks. Lacks chestnut patch on hindneck and has pale throat-patch bordered below by black
‘U’. In flight, shows chestnut tail. Not secretive, often feeding in small parties in the open. Usually
runs from danger but, if pressed, rises with explosive whirr of wings. Voice Loud far-carrying
series of 9–15 notes: kik-kjyw-ku, kik-kjyw-ku, kik-kjyw-ku, commonly heard. Habitat Scrub, edges
of cultivation and semi-desert. Note Range expanding naturally following deliberate introduction.Common Quail Coturnix coturnix PM, wv, mb?
L: 17. W: 33. Small gamebird, more often heard than seen, and hard to flush. In flight, size of Common
Starling; rather pointed, narrow wings bowed, fast shallow wingbeats, plain wings and striped
back. Creeps about on ground inconspicuously. Female has paler head pattern and lacks neck-band
of male. Voice Characteristic sound in open country over much of the region, especially in farmland,
by day or night; an explosive, rhythmically repeated trisyllabic whistle pit, pil-it (rendered as ‘wet-
my-lips’). Habitat Grasslands, cereal crops, meadows (sometimes in mountains). Note Passage
hatched, rare in winter.Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei V
L: 16. Slightly smaller than Common Quail, with plainer upperparts and much darker underparts
(male). Rarely seen unless flushed, when less narrow-winged than Common Quail. Male told by
broad black centre of breast, chestnut flanks with black streaking, and black-and-white head
pattern. Female has unmarked buff throat and warmer rufous lower breast and belly without
blackish spots (though present in juvenile). Small Buttonquail looks much smaller in flight with
short, rounded wings and contrasting upperwing pattern. Voice Resembles Common Quail but more
metallic: an explosive whit-whit-whit or rising and falling wit, wit-wit, wit-wit repeated at intervals
of 1–2 seconds. Habitat Grassland and cultivated fields. Note Apparently an irregular visitor but
may breed SW Saudi Arabia and Yemen (where recorded in numbers in late 19th century); vagrant
Oman, Socotra.