Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re going to be talking about Partridges. If you would like to learn more interesting animal facts be sure to subscribe to the channel!

As this episode airs in the heart of the holiday season… no, no, not that holiday… eh… I guess that will work… okay now that’s better! ...We thought it would be appropriate to discuss perhaps one of the most iconic animals for this time of the year that is also likely one about which the least is commonly known. If you’ve managed to spend any amount of time outside of your house during this part of the year and haven’t been exposed to the themed song “12 Days of Christmas” then you are one lucky bird. This repetitive earworm always ends on the verse, “and a partridge in a pear tree.” But what is a partridge anyway? And what the heck is it doing up in that pear tree?

Partridges belong to the same order of animals in which turkeys, chickens, and grouse are found - the order Galliformes. Take it a step further and they are even more closely related to quail, pheasants, and peafowl in the family Phasianidae. Throughout time, exactly where in this family they fit has been debated, though for the most part it can be assumed that partridges are not quail or peasants, chickens or grouse, and certainly not turkeys - they just happen to look kind of similar… sometimes. There are many species of partridges within the Phasianidae family but when discussing “true partridges” one would be referring to the Perdix (pair dicks, per dicks, pair dee… I don’t know, guys, I tried) , genus. Here live the Grey partridge, the Daurian partridge, and the Tibetan partridge who are considered otherwise to be unrelated to other “partridges” but hey, we like to be all inclusive in this show so we’re going to focus on any bird that commonly goes by the name partridge because isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

Partridges are usually larger than quails and smaller than pheasants and have plump round bodies with strong beaks and feet. They come in a variety of colors and typically males are larger than females. They use their tough feet for forging in the underbrush to find tasty snacks in the form of seeds, fruits, leaves, roots, insects, worms and sometimes small animals. Plus, they live almost everywhere in the world. I’m not even gonna say it this time, guys… They can be found in grasslands, the edges of forests, mountains and have even invaded into the easily navigable agricultural land that we have cultivated. Partridges are more commonly ground-birds and even tend to build their nests on land as opposed to in trees. The average amount of eggs per nest varies by species and I can’t seem to get an accurate answer on how long they can live though some sites seem to say around five years for certain species.

One example of these birds, the Grey Partridge, stands at about a foot long (30.5 cm) and weighs in at about a pound (450 grams). This seems to be a pretty typical size for partridges in general. While they have wings, they generally don’t do much flying and are typically non-migratory, spending most of their lives foraging the topsoil of their habitats.

So, maybe by this point in the episode some facts aren’t adding up: they don’t nest in trees; they don’t do much flying; and they spend most of their time on the ground? So… what the heck is a partridge doing in a pear tree, then? There are multiple interpretations of this floating around the interwebz one such being that the partridge is a representation of Jesus Christ, but the one that seems to speak the most truth, and is probably also my favorite, is that it’s a mispronunciation. Now, I’m going to be frank here and say upfront that I have never had even a second of schooling in French, but as it turns out, we’ve discussed the word in question on the episode already. Hey hey, joke’s on you now!! No, no I’m totally kidding, joke’s on me, words are hard.) Remember the scientific name for the genus of “true partridges”? The French word for partridge: Une ‘Perdix’ - my butchering of the French language aside - kind of sounds “in a pear tree.” And this ultimately is the generally accepted reason as to why that partridge is sitting up in that pear tree.

If you want to learn more about partridges, be sure to follow the links in the description. Let us know in the comments if you are aware of any animal myths that could use a little more research. We hope you have a happy holiday and be sure to give a thumbs up for more Animal Fact Files!