Red-legged partridge

On the wild.
Scanned from a 1974 Kodachrome II dia.
This partridge breeds naturally in southwestern Europe (France, Iberia and northwest Italy). It has become "naturalised" in flat areas of England and Wales, where it was introduced as a game species, and has been seen breeding as far north as Aberdeenshire. It is replaced in southeastern Europe and Africa by the very similar rock partridge (Alectoris graeca). It is a non-migratory terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season.
For New Zealand: A consignment of 1500 eggs was sent from the United Kingdom in July 1980. However the boxes were delayed by two days and had evidently over-heated en route. There was further delay getting the eggs through customs and quarantine clearance. By the time they reached Massey University (which had been invested in to take on the project) hopes were not high and only 135 chicks were hatched. Two further consignments totaling 638 eggs were sent mid 1981. From these only 53 chicks hatched. The plan was to rear these birds and put them through six breeding cycles in two years using controlled lighting and thus establish a substantial breeding nucleus. The programme at Massey was soon terminated and all the birds dispersed to other breeders, primarily the game farm at Te Ahoha which had already produced some young, but some were also given to the Wildlife Service