Gregarious behaviour in a group of captive Grey Partridges (Perdix perdix)

Abstract

A group of partridges living in an enclosure follows natural rhythms of feeding, dusting and resting. When the autumn‐winter covey breaks up, the end of gregariousness and pair formation are evident, and the spatial and temporal distribution of the daily activities changes. Social cohesion influences the formation of feeding, dusting and resting aggregations, which become more and more episodic. The system of gathering and warning calls changes as the covey breaks up and pairing proceeds.

Key words:

• Grey Partridge
• gregariousness
• biorhythms