The Buff-throated Partridge is a high-mountain pheasant relative in which males and females have similar plumage. A study in western Sichuan found that its preferred woodland changed by season.
This medium-sized galliform bird is sexually monochromatic: males and females have similar plumage.
Buff-throated Partridges inhabit western China’s high mountains. At Pamuling in Sichuan, they use fir–larch forest and low oak thickets among other vegetation types.
From late summer 2008 to spring 2009, feathers and calls were used to compare five habitats across about 50 square kilometres. Autumn feathers indicated greater use of fir–larch forest. Winter feathers and spring calls indicated greater use of oak thickets than expected from habitat availability.
The locally favoured vegetation differed between autumn and winter–spring. The authors therefore recommended retaining a mosaic of habitats alongside fir–larch forest. Different forests and thickets provide seasonal places to live.
IUCN Red List (BirdLife listing) · Least Concern · Global
BirdLife lists Least Concern globally. The Pamuling study reported cutting of oak thickets for cooking and heating fuel. Its authors recommended retaining varied habitats and regulating where and when firewood is harvested.