Chinese Bamboo Partridge

The Chinese Bamboo Partridge is a compact gamebird about 31cm long, intermediate in size between small Coturnix quails and larger Perdix partridges. It has a greyish breast, chestnut throat and strongly patterned flanks, with the sexes broadly similar but males slightly larger. Its short wings, rounded body and sturdy legs suit a life spent mainly on the ground beneath dense vegetation (Wikipedia, general species account).

This partridge uses scrubby hillsides, grass, bamboo and forest margins, where small groups walk through cover and feed at ground level. Its loud, repeated calls are often easier to detect than the bird itself. The species is native to eastern mainland Asia and Taiwan; populations in Japan derive from introductions and are now widely recorded in suitable lowland and foothill habitats (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).