Snow Partridge

About the Snow Partridge

The snow partridge (Lerwa lerwa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae found widely distributed across the high-altitude Himalayan regions of Pakistan, China, India and Nepal. It is the only species within its genus, and is thought to be the most basal member of the "erectile clade" of the subfamily Phasianinae. The species is found in alpine pastures and open hillside above the treeline but not in as bare rocky terrain as the Himalayan snowcock and is not as wary as that species. Males and females look similar in plumage but males have a spur on their tarsus.

This partridge appears grey above and chestnut below with bright red bill and legs and the upperparts finely barred in black and white. In flight the pattern of dark brown primaries and secondaries with a narrow trailing white margin make them somewhat like the much larger Tibetan snowcock. The 14-feathered tail is dark and barred in white. There is variation in the shade and some birds have a nearly black crown. The primaries and secondaries are brown and the breast is deep chestnut. The abdomen has more white and the lower flanks and feathers around the vent are barred brown and white. The under... Wikipedia →