Hainan partridge  (Arborophila ardens)

This typical, grey-brown partridge can be recognised by the boldly contrasting colour of its bright orange neck. This vivid colour separates the grey breast from the black head, which bears a distinctive and conspicuous white ear spot (2) (3). The female is similar to the male but paler below (2). Pairs give far-carrying territorial duets comprising of two-note (falling then rising) whistles, often repeated (3).

Believed to be endemic to Hainan Island, off the south coast of China, although there is an unconfirmed report from southern Guangxi, China (2) (4).

Mainly confined to primary, tropical evergreen forest between 600 and 1,600 metres above sea level, but also found in some evergreen forests that have been previously logged but are now well recovered (3).

The Hainan partridge forages for food amongst the leaf-litter of the forest floor, feeding on the seeds, insects and small snails it unearths (2) (4).

The breeding season lasts from February until May, when the species' distinctive courtship calls can be heard, and clutches of two to three eggs are normal (4).

The Hainan partridge is threatened by the rapid and extensive deforestation on the island in the past 50 years, severely reducing and fragmenting its range (3) (4). Forest clearance is mainly the result of excessive timber extraction, the replacement of forest by rubber plantations, shifting agriculture and the unrestricted cutting of wood for fuel and other uses (3). Although a logging ban has been enforced since 1994, helping to reduce the rate of forest loss on Hainan in recent years, illegal logging has been recorded. Illegal hunting for food also poses a threat to the Hainan partridge, even in protected areas (4). The island also has a rapidly growing human population in support of an expanding tourist industry, which may lead to additional future threats from development (5).

This bird is nationally protected in China and hunting is therefore illegal (4). The ban on logging primary forest has also lessened, though not eradicated, the pressure on this bird's habitat (3) (4). Populations have been recorded in Fanjia, Bawangling, Bangxi, Jianfengling, Jianling, Wuzhishan, Liulianling, Shangxi, Baishuiling, Nanwan, Diaoluoshan Limushan and Nanweiling Nature Reserves (3). The South China Institute of Endangered Animals started a successful Hainan Partridge captive-breeding programme in 1991, but for any future conservation programmes to succeed, habitat protection must remain a priority (4) (5).

For more information on the Hainan partridge see:

• BirdLife International:
  http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=222&m=0

Authenticated (10/04/08) by Dr John P. Carroll, Co-Chair of the IUCN-SSC/BirdLife International/WPA Partridge, Quail and Francolins Specialist Group.
http://www.gct.org.uk/pqf/