Tibetan Partridge

The Tibetan partridge is a 28 to 31cm gamebird with a brown back, blackish belly patch and chestnut flanks like its relatives, but with a striking black and white face pattern that contrasts with a rufous collar. The forehead, broad eyebrow, face and throat are white, with a broad black stripe running down the face from below the eyes. Neither sex has leg spurs (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found on mountain slopes and high meadows with some rhododendron, dwarf juniper or other scrub, typically between 3,600 and 4,250m. It forages on the ground in sparsely vegetated high ground, in pairs in summer and in flocks of ten to fifteen outside the breeding season, and tends to run rather than fly. It is a seed eater, but the young take insects for protein. The male helps look after the young.