This is how partridge handle 17 degrees below zero.

That’s a healthy covey of huns! They’ll be fine I think. Is there sage, grass or shrubs nearby? Kind of odd they’re just out in the open like that unless they were sunning.

Wow, what a picture. Thanks for posting that Daryl.

Daryl,
Fantastic photo, amazing how birds find a way to survive!
Karl

A few weeks ago there were 21 birds, then 20 in a couple of days. There are still 20 as of a few minutes ago. We have wondered what they were eating when they chose our lawn. I think it is the frozen green lawn grass that they are digging up. At least, that’s what I see in the areas where they scratched up food. There is a coulee near our place and I guess they winter in the brush there. But, they like what this frozen lawn has to offer, even if they have to dig for it.

Daryl you can rub 2 sticks together.

Yum, hunsickles!

Great picture, Daryl! Hard to survive but strong partridges!

The only way to improve your view is to add partridge! Thanks for sharing!

Great photo. They sometimes do this at night with heads in all directions for security as well as warmth. The behaviour is called 'Jugging'. Lagopus.....

Lagopus, can you give the derivation of the term”jugging”?

By the way, I just looked out the dining room window. For weeks it has been 20 birds. Now, there seems to be another 7 or so feeding in a close by, but separate group.

Awesome photo Daryl...

Does “jugging” derive from partridges making a noise like jugs or tankards being held together and clinking ?

Daryl, that is a great picture, thanks for sharing that.
Marc.

Do they rotate the positions within the group cycling between the outside position and the center? Honey bees do that in 3 dimensions to keep the hive and everyone inside as warm as possible.

Great picture Daryl. They look a lot like the Bobwhites on the back cover of some Ithaca Gun Co., Inc. catalogs in the mid-1950s.

Nice photo. Far better than the published photos of Bobwhites frozen in place as they roosted in the aftermath of a midwestern ice storm. Gil

Daryl, sorry. At the moment I can't find where the word comes from. It is a term I have heard for a long time. I can find reference to it in a book called Partridge Shooting by J.K. Stanford. I'll dig into a few more of my older game shooting books and see if there is anything more. Lagopus.....

Lagopus, I'll look forward to any information you can provide.
Parabola, my wife, who actually took the above picture, liked your "jugging" idea. So do I.

I saw similar behavior several years ago on a much larger scale. A hunting buddy and I were drawn for permits for the Primitive Weapons deer hunt at the Pymatuning Goose Management Refuge in Crawford County, Pa. It was 10 below zero on the morning of our mid-January hunt, and I posted very close to the lake, which was completely frozen over.

On the ice, about 200 yards from shore, were thousands of Canada geese that hadn't migrated south. They were all clustered together, and through my binoculars, I could see that their feathers were all puffed out like these birds. Occasionally, a small number would take off and presumably fly somewhere to find food and water. Other small flocks of eight or ten birds would return, and land on the ice, and then rejoin the large cluster to share warmth.

Wonderful image indeed.

https://www.onthewingphotography.com/wings/gray-partridge-images/
"Jugging" - The roosting of a covey of partridges (family Phasianidae), the group in the roost being called a 'jug'.

Possibly from the Scots 'jougs' - a round iron collar

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ecology-grey-partridge-perdix-mervyn-p-walsh
In fine weather, the night is spent in a tight group in open areas preferably 25-80m from the nearest tree; a behaviour known as ‘jugging’.


I was hunting in NE KS in the above 0 teens in 10" of snow. My setter went on point, pointing at snow and no cover. I foolishly didn't trust the dog, but kicked around and out popped 6 quail that were in a snow-covered hole. Felt bad about disturbing them.

Drew, both of those articles are really fun and full of information. Thanks

Archibald Thorburn "Hard Times - Partridges and a Hare", 1892

Drew, I love ir. One of your article talks about the “gray” partridge actually being somewhat colorful. Mr.Thorburn saw that. I have often been amazed at how beautiful wild turkeys are in the close sunlight since at the usual visual distances they look dark black or brown. I have spent many years with my dogs hunting Huns in Canada. After a month of enjoying these birds around the house, I’m not sure I can hunt them with the same fervor as in previous years. Getting old ? Yes

Another Thorburn "Partridges in a Winter Landscape"

Well done Drew in finding references. I remember some years ago when on a sniping exercise on some open heather moorland. I must have been well cammed in because I had a pack of red grouse land all around me. What interested me most was the faint little calls that they made. I suppose that landing in thick heather they would need to call the brood together for the night and the faint calls were a way of doing just that. Quite a privilege to be a part of and I only wish I could have recorded it in some way as I would doubt many would have witnessed this behaviour. After a couple of minutes they must have rumbled me as they moved off somewhere else. Lagopus.....

Lagopus,

Friend of mine had a somewhat similar experience. He was sat in a high seat when a sparrow hawk perched on top of his cap before flying off in disgust.

With reference to my theory above were the bird’s calls reminiscent of the sounds of jugs or tankards clinking when held together?

Parabola

Thorburn's "Red Partridges", 1913 calling up the brood

Parabola, the birds in this case were red grouse. Difficult to describe the sound but it was a series of faint cheeps and churs. I would doubt if it has ever been recorded anywhere. To be right in the middle of the pack as it landed was possibly an unique experience. Lagopus.....

Only place we see gray partridge now is on a few spots on the gravel roads where gravel is showing. We have been dumping some wheat on those spots hoping they will find it before it gets covered up again. Two coveys are down to four birds each now, with two at 8 and one at 12.

For those interested, today there was the group of 20, but also a group of 17 at the sliding glass door in the basement. Such fun. We last had Huns around maybe 20 years ago when the surrounding fields were in wheat. The group of 17 has burrowed into the snow, almost like they are dead, but one fellow is there with his head up.

Yesterday the wind was from the east, which is uncommon . Temperatures were about minus 10F with 15-20 mph wind. The partridge took refuge on the west side of the house. They don't look comfortable to me, but they soon appeared in the yard , scratching for something to eat.






"Made it through the night" Minus 14 F at the moment

Great photos, I love Huns
Mike

Enjoy seeing the photos. They are a favorite bird.

We go to -23F tomorrow AM, and recent bit of snow covers everything. So bad for the phez and partridge. Had 8 sharptails in soybean stubble near the house yesterday, but there is nothing visible above the snow. I don't worry about them as much as the introduced species as they have emergency foods like buckbrush and silverberry fruit common in native pastures.

Daryl, is my count of 23 correct?? This isn't the norm with Bozeman colder than West Yellowstone unless it's the difference between clear and cloudy skies currently. Gil

Gil, 23 has been the count for this group for a couple of weeks. In December it was 21 and then 20 for a couple of weeks. A second group of 17 showed up for a couple of days, but have not seen them for a while. Yes, West Yellowstone is usually the coldest. It's quite a bit higher than Bozeman. Our house west of Bozeman sits at about 4900 feet elevation. It was 15 below zero last night, but should warm up today for the next 10 days. The rough east 15-20 mph wind has stopped and that makes it much better for all. Weather, of course, plays a part in the Huns' behavior, but I don't have that figured out.

Daryl,
Throw out some seeds for those birds!!😂. They’ve earned it.

Nobody has hun behavior figured out. They’re weird. Especially when it comes to them making new Huns and their own longevity.

The weather turned bad again, and the partridge have returned. Now, they are pairing up for the nesting season. Note the little fellow diving into the snow in search for food or cover.