Scientific name:
Alectoris

Natural spread:
Europe, Asia, Africa

stone-chickens is partridge-similar Pheasantsof approximately 30 cm of total-length and 0,5-0,75 kg of weight. Most known representative of the stone-chickens is our stone-chicken (Alectoris graeca), whose biology should stand also in the foreground here. However, there are approximately 6 types with many subtypes in Eurasia, Near east and North-Africa altogether as well as. Pub-races.

Further types, spread Still be fitting the 34 cm long red-chicken (Alectoris rufa), who is native on the Iberian peninsula (including Balearen) as brood-bird until France (also Corsica) and northwest-Italy, into the type Alectoris; the also 33 cm long rock-chicken, A. Barbara, from Sardinia, North-Africa and from the Canary islands as well as the equally-big Chukarsteinhuhn, A. chukar, a brood-bird Asia (from front and inner-Asia as far as to the Mongolia and Manchuria) and southeast-Europe (Thrakien, Bulgaria). The black-head-stone-chicken (Alectoris melanocephala) broods in the south and southwest of the Arabic peninsula, while the Philby-Steinhuhn, A. philbyi, only in Arabia's (from Mecca to Yemen) southwest occurs. Northwest-China (Tsinghai until Kansu) is the home of the Chinese stone-chicken, A. myna. Chukarsteinhühner naturalized one in North America and on New Zealand's South-island, red-chickens against it in England, on which Azore, Canaries, Balearen as well as on Madeira.

The spread-area of the actual stone-chicken, A. graeca, stretches from the Alps over Italy (including Sicily) as far as to Yugoslavia and Greece. These birds are colored much more colorful than partridges, with whom they are classified together into the group of the partridges (Perdicini).

Shape The red beak is typically also for the other types of the type Alectoris, that black or brown bordered white Kehlregion as well as this white, black and bay gebänderten flanks and the red legs. The sexes look almost same; male birds have a blunt, hump-good spur at the run-rear. In the field the individual types of the type let themselves distinguish only severely of each other.

Way of life Here, the spread-area offers an useful regulation-help. Stone-chickens live in as stand-birds stones and rocky mountain-landscapes, climbs also in protected valley-situations outside the incubation (in the winter), however, or (in the summer) until upwards into the treeless high-situations at the snow line. Relaxed bush and jaw-continuance with water-surfaces in the proximity as well as dwarf-shrub-vegetation, screes and (in Italy and on the Balkans) the dry mediterranen hard-foliage-forests as well as vineyards offer stone-chickens of suitable life-conditions. Here, the birds look for buds, fresh grass and herbs, Sämereien and fruits. Also, stone-chickens (engl) take. "Rock Partrigde", gladly grains of reaped fields on.

Brood Stone-chickens build ground-nests (flat hollows with insignificant end-upholstery) in the protection of grass-tufts, rocks or hedge.

In contrast to the other partridges of the type Alectoris, the female stone-chicken puts only 1 nests from 8-14 (6-18) eggs (4,3x3,2 cm). With the red-chicken and Chukarsteinhuhn, there sometimes are 2 nests, of which one of the male becomes erbrütet. The brood-period begins in May / June. Usually, stone-chickens of the last egg, with what they cover the nest with Nistmaterial at the abandonment of the nest before every time, brood at. The brood-duration amounts to 24-26 days.

Young stone-chickens are Nestflüchter and carry a patterned, reddish-brown Dunenkleid. they leave the nest soon after the dry-development, are led by the female and grow up only quite slow. Although the two nests often get along only 25-50 m of each other off, leads with the Chukar - and with the red-chicken always only the parent the boys, whom it has also erbrütet. They become fully-fledged only in the age of 20 days and finally go round the bend, for example, after 2 months.

Stone-chickens remain together in the family-association and join together up to 100 individuals to bigger "chains" in the winter. Stone-chickens still become sexually mature in the 1. Year of its life. The known maximum-age (in captivity) amounts to barely 10 years.