Snow Partridge

The snow partridge is grey above and chestnut below, with a bright red bill and legs and finely barred black-and-white upperparts. In flight the dark brown flight feathers with a narrow white trailing edge make it look somewhat like the much larger Tibetan snowcock. It measures 38 to 40cm, and males, though similar in plumage to females, have a spur on the leg (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is widely distributed across the high Himalayas of Pakistan, China, India and Nepal. It lives in small groups, usually six to eight but up to thirty in the non-breeding season, and is said to feed on mosses, lichens, berries and plant shoots. The breeding season is May to July, with a scrape on a hillside under shelter. Three to five eggs are laid, and the female incubates while the male stands sentinel.