A partridge of southwestern Cambodia. The Cardamom Mountains population includes a locally described subspecies.
The subspecies chandamonyi has chestnut flecks on a dark crown, with deep chestnut on the face, throat, and breast. Its belly feathers have less black edging than those of the other subspecies described in the paper.
Chestnut-headed Hill Partridges inhabit evergreen forest in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. Males call from a landscape of wooded slopes, and their occurrence is associated with elevation and terrain.
In 2015–2016, researchers repeatedly walked transects in three Cambodian protected areas, recording the directions and distances of calling males. They saw only two groups, so density estimates relied on male calls rather than sightings.
They also combined the surveys with automatic-camera records collected for other animals in 2013–2014 and 2015–2016. Bird occurrence was associated with elevation and slope. Calls and images offered complementary ways to investigate suitable forest habitat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Satellite-based analysis estimated an approximately 11% reduction in suitable habitat in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains between 1996 and 2016. The study identified logging, agricultural conversion and hunting as conservation concerns. Protecting remaining forest and controlling extraction, alongside continued field monitoring, remain relevant management needs.