- Perdicula asiatica
Identification
15-18 cm.
- Bright chestnut forehead, throat and supercilium, enclosed by white lateral crown-stripe, eyeline, moustachial stripe and malar
- Distinct bown cheek-patch
- Broad black blotches on scapulars and rufescent undertail-coverts
- Male with heavily barred black-and-white underparts and rufous-buff belly and vent
- Female with unbarred vinous-buff underparts (darker than Rock Bush Quail)
Juveniles have no rufous on face and a broad pale supercilium.
Similar species
Very similar to Rock Bush Quail but with more contrasting markings. Rock Bush Quail lacks the white bordering above the rufous stripe above the broader and paler eyebrow. There is also no distinct brown cheek patch and little or no black splotching or white streaks on upperparts.
Distribution
Found in India and Sri Lanka.
Introduced on Reunion Island (where still found) and Mauritius Island (where extinct).
Locally common but also declining in other parts of its range (eg Sri Lanka).
Taxonomy
Four to five subspecies recognized:
- P. a. punjaubi in northwest India (Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh)
- P. a. asiatica in central and northeast India (Gujarat to Bihar)
- P. a. vidali in western India
- P. a. vellorei in southern India (southeastern Ghats)
- P. a. ceylonensis in Sri Lanka
Habitat
Brush habitats and dry scrub. From grasslands to rather dense deciduous forest.
Occurs up to 1250 m, recorded up to 1500 m in Western Ghats.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on seeds and some insects.
Forages in coveys of 6 to 25 birds.
Breeding
Breeding season at the end of the rainy season. A monogamous species. The nest is placed on the ground in cover. Lays 5 to 6 eggs.
Movements
Probably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Jungle Bush Quail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Jungle_Bush_Quail
