Family: Phasianidae (Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse)

Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)

Red List Category

Criteria: A2bcde+3bcde+4bcde

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Justification of Red List category
Red-legged Partridge populations have been estimated to be declining at a rate of between 40-45% over the past 10 years, based on data reported by EU Member States to the European Commission under Article 12 of the EU Birds Directive. This rate of decline is matched by that reported under the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme, which shows a steep decline since 2008. Threats from intensive agriculture, insecticides, hybridisation and ecological consequences for wild populations from contact with released birds are all documented to impact varying proportions of the wild global population. However, it is acknowledged that a significant and potentially more stable proportion of the population occurs on private land inaccessible to surveyors for these schemes in the species's core range in Spain. 

As such, it is inferred that the rate of population reduction has approached the thresholds for listing as Vulnerable over the past ten years but is not, as yet, believed to have exceeded this threshold. The species is therefore assessed as Near Threatened, as nearly meeting the thresholds for Vulnerable under Criterion A2bcde +A3bcde + A4bcde.

It is important that there is greater collaboration between those monitoring the trend of the wild population and those involved in conserving sustainable populations to maintain the viability of hunting, to increase the precision of the trend estimate for future assessments.

Population size: 9950000-13700000 mature individuals

Population trend: decreasing

Extent of occurrence (breeding/resident): 1,710,000 km²

Country endemic: no

Attributes
Realm - Palearctic
IUCN System - Terrestrial