Steinhuhn Upper Austria

The rock partridge (Alectoris graeca) belongs to the pheasant family and to the genus of rock partridges. With a body length of around 32 to 37 cm and a weight between roughly 450 and 850 g, it is similar in size to a grey partridge. Characteristic features are the blue-grey upperparts and breast, the sharply black-bordered white throat, the black forehead band, and the strongly yellow-brown and black-barred flanks. Bill and legs are coral red.

In the Alpine region the bird typically occurs between roughly 700 and 2700 m elevation. It prefers steep, sun-exposed south-facing slopes with short-grass swards, scattered boulders, scree fields and dwarf-shrub stands between the tree line and the snow line. The birds depend on open, early-snowmelt patches for foraging and on rock structures for cover. Slopes encroached by shrubs and forest following the abandonment of pastoral use are avoided, which makes the decline of traditional alpine farming a key driver of habitat loss.

The population fluctuates strongly with weather conditions. Warm, dry summers favour breeding success, while cold and snow-rich winters and late spring snowfalls cause marked declines. The Swiss Red List classifies the species as near-threatened, while in Bavaria it is regarded as critically endangered or extremely rare. Switzerland carries a particular international responsibility for the species, as around six percent of the global population breeds on Swiss territory. Major threats include climate warming, land-use change in mountain regions, shrub encroachment of habitats and disturbance from mountain sports.

The rock partridge differs from the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) above all in its plumage. The rock partridge has blue-grey crown and back, while the red-legged partridge is distinctly brown. The white throat patch of the rock partridge is cleanly and evenly bordered in black, whereas in the red-legged partridge the black border dissolves towards the belly into an irregular speckling. The two species are also separated by habitat: the rock partridge is a bird of the alpine rock zone, while the red-legged partridge is a species of western European farmland and does not naturally occur in the Alps.

In those parts of the Alpine region where populations still permit it, the rock partridge is a traditional high-mountain small game species. In South Tyrol, for example, the alpine rock partridge may be hunted from 15 October to 15 December and is subject to a shooting plan tied to the individual hunting district. The hunt is classically practised as a demanding mountain stalk on steep south-facing slopes, often with a pointing dog, and is closely tied to alpine hunting culture. In Bavaria and Switzerland the species is fully protected year-round or simply not hunted, so the jaeger's responsibility there lies primarily in habitat management and monitoring.