|
|---|
Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$Photo1 in /var/www/vhosts/virtualzoo/classifications/display.php on line 584
| Subspecies: | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Est. World Population: | U |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Least Concern |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
| Gestation Period: | |
Habitat:
The following information refers only to the species' habitat use in Europe. The species is found in predominantly dry, open country with scrubby cover (Tucker and Heath 1994). It uses steep slopes, rocky areas and arid hillsides, stony terraces, unimproved agricultural land, open or degraded maquis and woodland, including open pine forest (Tucker and Heath 1994, McGowan and Kirwan 2013). The species lays between March and May although eggs have been reported in December on the Canary Islands (Clark 2006, McGowan and Kirwan 2013). It can lay six to twenty seven eggs (Znari 1998). It breeds earlier in the lowlands than in the mountains. In very dry years it may not breed at all in semi-arid habitats (McGowan and Kirwan 2013). The nest is a depression in the ground which is usually lined and sheltered by long grass, bushes or boulders (Madge and McGowan 2002, Mocci Demartis and Massoli-Novelli 1978). It has a varied diet but predominantly feeds on leaves, shoots, fruits and seeds of a wide range of grasses and herbs with insects such as ants forming an important supplement. The species is mainly sedentary (McGowan and Kirwan 2013).
Conservation:
Conservation Actions Underway
EU Birds Directive Annex I, II and III. Mace Lande: Safe. The reinforcing of populations continues, such as in the Canaries where local populations are restocked annually to accommodate sport hunting. In Gibraltar, over 200 birds hatched locally from eggs supplied from northern Morocco were released progressively in 2014; Prior to this habitat improvement measures, involving scrub clearance, and cat control, preceded the releases (McGowan and Kirwan 2013).
Conservation Actions Proposed
Proposed conservation actions in Europe include enforcing legislation where it exists and creating protected areas where shooting is banned to provide safe areas and preserve suitable habitat. In the Canaries a moratorium on hunting should be introduced for one or two years to allow numbers to recover. Low-intensity farming should be promoted to protect and restore suitable habitats (Tucker and Heath 1994).
EU Birds Directive Annex I, II and III. Mace Lande: Safe. The reinforcing of populations continues, such as in the Canaries where local populations are restocked annually to accommodate sport hunting. In Gibraltar, over 200 birds hatched locally from eggs supplied from northern Morocco were released progressively in 2014; Prior to this habitat improvement measures, involving scrub clearance, and cat control, preceded the releases (McGowan and Kirwan 2013).
Conservation Actions Proposed
Proposed conservation actions in Europe include enforcing legislation where it exists and creating protected areas where shooting is banned to provide safe areas and preserve suitable habitat. In the Canaries a moratorium on hunting should be introduced for one or two years to allow numbers to recover. Low-intensity farming should be promoted to protect and restore suitable habitats (Tucker and Heath 1994).