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As a result of the realignment of the River Glaven into Blakeney Harbour, north Norfolk, a large area of dried mud was created north of the Blakeney Freshes (freshwater marsh). Here, in early June 2006, 17 pairs of Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta settled and had nests. While counting these and other birds at 10.30 hrs on 3rd June, I happened across a bird that I could not for a second or two recognise. It was standing upright, somewhat reminiscent of an alert Dotterel Charadrius morinellus, except that its tail was raised and fanned creating an impression of a miniature displaying Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus - or even an Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs.

It was quickly apparent that it was, in fact, a male Grey Partridge Perdix perdix in a display posture that I had never seen or heard about before, and nearby was a female. The male, standing upright and alert, held his tail vertically and completely fanned in a half-circle; his wings were lowered (fig. 1a). He then pranced and dashed around in a frenzy, making frequent sallies at the female, which was crouching by a large lump of dried mud. She also started to make dashing and erratic movements, often running at the male, with lowered wings but never once raised or fanned her tail; the pair would then parade around each other. On several occasions while dashing at the female, the male lowered his head (fig. 1b) and twice stood still and pointed his bill skywards, showing his horseshoe breast pattern prominently (fig. 1c). All the time, his tail was raised and fanned, and his wings lowered. The display lasted for about three minutes and may have continued longer had it not been for an Avocet chasing the partridges away.

Despite all the studies made of the Grey Partridge, its ethology is not well known. Dick Potts (pers. comm.) considered my description of this display similar to the shoulder-spot display of grouse, which has been described for Grey Partridge but without mention of the tail being held raised and fanned (Carroll 1988). Jenkins (1961), in his treatise of the social behaviour of the Grey Partridge, attributes such posturing as pre-copulation display. (Certainly, courtship display would not be expected in early June.) However, neither Jenkins nor subsequent authors, for example Cramp & Simmons (1980) or McCabe & Hawkins (1946), have described the tail being held in the way observed or as occurs in many grouse species and some bustards.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dick Potts for helpful comments and Mike Wilson for searching the literature.

References

Carroll, J. P. 1988. The shoulder spot in Gray Partridge. Wilson Bull. 100 (4): 679-682.

Cramp, S., & Simmons, K. E. L. 1980. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. OUP, Oxford.

Jenkins, D. 1961. Social behaviour in the Partridge Perdix perdix. Ibis 103a: 155-188.

McCabe, R. A., & Hawkins, A. S. 1946. The Hungarian Partridge in Wisconsin. American Midland Naturalist 36 (1): 1-75.

Richard Porter, Kings Head Cottage, Cley next the Sea, Norfolk NR25 7RX