Rufous-throated Partridge    Arborophila   rufogularis

Etymology:

• Arborophila : Latin word arbor -tree; Greek word philos-loving
• Rufogularis : Latin word rufusred; gularis –throated  { Red throated}

Vernacular Names:  U.P.: Peura, Ass: Duboi, Cachar: Dao bui, Daobuiyegashi, Dafla: Pokhu, Lepcha: Kohumbut, Naga: Inrui whip

Distribution in India: Resident in Himalayas and North East India.

Description: Size of 26-27cm; wt. of male 325–430 g, female 261–386 g, 200–300 g. The male has a grey forehead. The olive-brown crown and nape have black mottles. There are a whitish supercilium and moustachial curves. The throat and neck-sides are orange-rufous, with black speckles. The breast and flanks are blue-grey. The upper belly is blue-grey and the central belly is whitish. The vent is buffy-brown. The mantle, back and rump are olive-brown. The scapulars and wing coverts have chestnut, black and greyish bands. The beak is dusky-brown or blackish, and the legs are pinkish or crimson. The female is similar to the male.The Juvenile is duller and paler orange on throat, dull grey below with whitish belly and central breast, and crown and flanks are marked with brown and black vermiculations. The races vary most conspicuously in head and throat pattern: intermedia( Assam south of Bramhaputra)has intense spotting on crown, nape, chin and upper throat, appearing blackish, contrasting with clear orange lower throat, which lacks narrow black line bordering grey breast.

Habitat : It is found in evergreen forest with thick undergrowth, also found in areas of bamboo, scrub and heavy secondary growth, from 600 m up to 3000 m,.

Food Habits: It eats seeds, berries, green plant matter and invertebrates, including larvae.

Breeding Habits: They breed in April-Aug in India. They are monogamous. The nest is built by male. The nest is either simply a scrape, or can have a dome of grass and a small entrance hole; in both cases, sited within forest undergrowth. They lay a clutch of 4-5 pale eggs ,laid at 1–2-day intervals. The incubation period is 20–24 days, commenced with last egg done by female alone.