
enclosures or rooms, will set up a conversational clamor that may last 
for hours and Pause: eae Me ead upon ‘the. a ake of an intruder. 
idterbueeding 
No records. of this species crossing with other partridges or 
with quail have been recorded. Crosses between the subspecies of 
Alectoris rufa are. said to occur. : Attempts to cross redlegs with 
bobwhite in: captivity in Spain have not been: successful. No cross- 
breeding with Hungarian) partridges in Britain, France, or Spain has 
been reported. Chukars and redlegs penned together during the breeding 
season on the Price Game Farm of the Utah State Department of Fish and 
Game did not ‘praduce. fertile eggs Tae acct well be Expected 
in close confinement a) .- . 
‘ wes | Weather. and eGileaneie Analogues 
The Atebtoris anger is. ‘Limited. in its distribution to hal etone 
of moderate to scanty, precipitation. To this~the redlegs offer no ex- 
ception though they possibly. may thrive.in somewhat moister and more 
humid regions than do the chukars. Conversely they will not tolerate 
as much cold or snow as will the more widely distributed chukars. 
.. Precipitation tolerances... som 
-Amount..-- Redleg range.extends from regions with but 10 inches 
of precipitation.a-year;to-.those with 30 to-35 inches. Below 12 inches 
and above 30 inches,. however, these. birds are seldom abundant in their | 
native range. -In Spain the optimum seems to be:.12 to .20 inches... The 
French red-legged partridges in southern England do well in areas close 
to the upper limits of precipitation which the species will tolerate; 
the Spanish birds, closer to the lower limits. 
Periadicity --. Precipitation over -most of the Iberian 
Peninsula is generally well distributed.through the year, except in the 
summer months. Dry years are common and,.when several follow in suc- 
cession, may cause a marked dimunition in partridge abundance through 
decreased egg. production or increased brood mortality. A study of the 
weather records between 1930 and 1950, however, indicates that partridges 
have survived a. period of five consecutive months, running from early — 
April through August, with no rainfall at all. Months with less than 
0.6 of an inch are normal in Spain in summer. Throughout the rest of 
the year precipitation is usually between 1 and 2 inches a month with 
the maximum recorded at 3.3 inches, except in the high mountains. But 
for the occasional thunderstorm, rains are usually moderate with pre- 
cipitation seldom over an inch at a time. Rainfall during the critical 
“period of May and June varies from 3 inches to 0.3 inch a month, averag- 
ing 1.7 inches. 
(a) Letter from Clifton M. Greenhalgh 
“19 
