The concept of territory in the partridge Perdix perdix p.perdix.

Abstract

The fluctuations in the Partridge population on the 3600-acre estate of the I.C.I. Game Research Station at Damerham, near Fordingbridge, Hampshire, have been recorded since 1947 with the help of numbered plastic tabs that enable individual partridges to be identified at a distance. In the course of this study, some information has been obtained on the territory of the birds concerned. The ecological background and the population trends have been dealt with briefly elsewhere (Blank & Ash 1955). Over 90% of the partridges on the estate are Perdix, the remainder being Alectoris, here mentioned only incidentally. The birds' behaviour is of great importance when one is concerned with territory, and unfortunately this has been so far largely neglected in the present study. Thus, we should stress now that the information herein given is purely incidental to the main work, and so must necessarily be lacking in many essential details.