Assessment of Chukar and Gray Partridge Populations - Idaho Power

Hells Canyon Chukar and Gray Partridge Report, Ratti and Giudice 264.6.2. Gray PartridgeWe found no published reports on food habitats of gray partridge inhabiting canyongrasslands. The following summary is based on studies conducted in agricultural landscapes inNorth America.Gray partridge are opportunistic, thus a variety of foods are consumed including seeds ofdomestic crops (wheat, barley, oats, corn, and sunflower) and weeds in cropfields (foxtail [Seatiaspp.], wild buchwheat [Polygonum spp.], ragweed [Ambrosia spp.], and Russianthistle [Salsolakali]) (Kobriger 1980, Melinchuk 1981, Hupp et al. 1988). The most important animal foods foradults in the northern plains include Orthoptera and Lepidoptera. Insects are important in earlydiet of chicks and include leafhoppers (Cicadellidae), flies (Diptera), ants (Formicidae),grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera), plant bugs (Miridae), sawfly larvae (Hymenoptera),Lepidoptera larvae, Carabidae, Staphylinidae, and cereal aphids (Aphidae) (Erpelding et al.1987, Kobriger 1980, Potts 1986, Hupp et al. 1988). Diet varies by season: mostly insects insummer, seeds of wild plants in fall, seeds of crop plants in winter, and green leafy vegetationduring spring (Carroll 1993).4.7. Movements4.7.1. Daily Movements and Home RangesHome range is the area used by an animal during a specified time period to satisfy food,cover, and reproductive requirements, excluding infrequent exploratory movements (Burt 1943,Walter 2000). Individual home ranges often are variable. Variability in home ranges may reflectdifferences in social status, season, weather, and landscape characteristics (Smith et al. 1982).Furthermore, comparisons among studies should be viewed with caution due to differences inacquiring and analyzing home-range data.4.7.1.1. Chukar. Estimates of daily movements and home ranges of chukars inNorth America are limited. Anecdotal observations suggested that chukars frequently moved 1-3mi/day (Bump 1951 and Phelps 1955, cited in Christensen 1996; Oelklaus 1976). Duringsummer and early fall, daily movements often involved movements up and down the canyonwalls (Oelklaus 1976). Estimates from 2 radio telemetry studies indicated that daily movementsand home ranges were much smaller than previously thought. Lindbloom (1998) reported thataverage daily movement of chukars in the Salmon River drainage during March-August was 280m (n = 19, SE = 44.5, range: 32-686), but no radiotagged birds moved from higher elevations tolower elevations near the river’s edge. Average daily movements were similar between seasons(spring and summer) and sexes. Average distance between chukar locations and permanentwater was 1,103 m (n = 31, SE = 95, range: 157-1,901). Average spring-summer home rangewas 39.8 ha (100% MCP method; n = 20 birds, 5-16 locations/bird; SE = 5.0, range: 6.0-78.8),which was similar between years and sexes. Walter (2000) reported that average dailymovement in eastern Oregon during April-August was 282 m (n = 17, SE = 11.2, range: 181-415) and average spring-summer home range was 17-25 ha (90% MCP and 70% AK methods; n= 13 birds, >25 locations/bird). However, both Lindbloom (1998) and Walter (2000) cautionedthat their studies were conducted during years of relatively high precipitation. Thus, chukars didnot need to move great distances between habitats supporting food and water (Lindbloom 1998).