White-cheeked Partridge

 007.Arborophila atrogularis (Blyth, 1849) Synonym: Arboricola atrogularis Blyth, 1849 English name: White-cheeked Partridge Bangla name: Dholagal Batai.

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 Description: The White-cheeked Partridge is a small terrestrial bird with a distinct white cheek (length 28 cm, weight 255 g, wing 13.7 cm, bill 2 cm, tarsus 4.3 cm, tail 6.2 cm). It has a grey forehead, olive-brown crown and orange-yellow hind-neck. The rest of its upperpart is light brown mottled or barred with black. It has a grey supercilium, black eye-stripe, white cheek and rufous-buff ear-coverts. Its scapulars have black and rufous bars. Its breast and flanks are grey with diffused black and white spots. It has a whitish abdomen and rufescent undertail-coverts with black spots and white edges. Its irises are brown or red-brown, orbital and gular skin is bright pink. The male has a black bill and dull orange to bright orange-red legs and feet. The female has a dark brown bill and dull wax-yellow legs and feet.

Habit: It inhabits the undergrowths and bamboo thickets of evergreen forests. It is usually seen in small groups. It forages by walking on the ground and nibbling the vegetation and pecking the ground. It feeds on seeds, berries, shoots, insects and tiny molluscs. When disturbed it runs swiftly and hides under leaves or bushes. It calls often at dusk. The usual call is a rolling whistling note: whew, whew. Its song is a loud, double whistling note. It breeds in March-April. It nests on the ground in scrub, grass or bamboos inside the forests. The nest is a natural hollow on the ground lined with leaves and grasses. The female usually lays 4-5 white eggs, 3.7 x 2.8 cm each. The female alone incubates.

Distribution: It is a rare resident of Bangladesh. It occurs in the evergreen forests of Sylhet Division. Previously, it also occurred in Chittagong Division. Its global range extends through Asia, including India, China and Myanmar.

 Status: It is a globally Near Threatened species. It is, however, considered a Data Deficient species in Bangladesh. It is protected by the Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation Act.

Miscellaneous: The scientific name Arborophila atrogularis means a black-throated tree-loving partridge (Latin: arbor = tree; Greek: philos = loving; Latin: ater = black, gula = throat).

[Sajeda Begum]

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Copy from

Encyclopedia of flora and fauna of  Bangladesh -BIRDS-Volume 26- Page: 06.

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