It is found in the temperate zone, steppe regions and open arable landscapes (Carroll et al. 2020). Its preferred habitat is open, low-intensity mixed farmland  and grasslands with small fields and hedges on grassy banks (Potts 1986, Birkan and Jacob 1988, Carroll et al. 2020). It is found in large tracts of grassland, or other ground cover that is only slightly taller than the bird itself with some dense shrubby patches at intervals such as hedgerows (Carroll et al. 2020). Given its preference of traditional agricultural practices where these hedgerows are maintained, and where pesticide use is minimal, the species can be found mostly across wheat-belts of northern Europe and North America (Carroll et al. 2020). Laying occurs from late April in the U.K., early May to June in central Europe and late May to June in Sweden with re-nesting until August or September (Carroll et al. 2020). It typically lays 15–17 eggs in the first clutch but fewer eggs when re-nesting. The nest is a shallow depression lined with plant material at the base of a hedge or other thick vegetation (Madge and McGowan 2002). It feeds on seeds of grains and weeds, cereals and clover and grass leaves as well as insects. The species is mainly sedentary however it is partially migratory in eastern Europe and performs altitudinal migration in the Caucasus moving to the foothills in October and November (Carroll et al. 2020).

The species occurs throughout much of the western Palearctic, with a native range encompassing Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Türkiye, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and China (del Hoyo et al. 1994, Carroll et al. 2020). The subspecies italica, endemic to parts of Italy, has been extinct since the 1980s as a result of hybridisation with introduced individuals of the nominate subspecies (Liukkonen-Anttila et al. 2002). Other subspecies (in addition to nominate subspecies perdix) include sphagnetorum (found in Netherlands and Germany), armoricana (found across areas of France), hispaniensis (occurring in Portugal and Spain), lucida (from Finland to Russia, the Black Sea, and Northern Caucasus), robusta (parts of Russia, to Kazakhastan, Siberia, and even Northwestern China), and canescens (occurring from Türkiye and the Caucasus to Iran) (Carrol et al. 2020).

Conservation Actions Underway
Mace Lande: Safe. Considered a Species of European Conservation Concern (SPEC: Carroll et al. 2020). EU Birds Directive Annex II and III, Perdix perdix italica and Perdix perdix hispaniensis Annex I. A national Species Management Plan for the Italian Grey Partridge (P. p. italica) was published in 1999 (Palumbo and Gallo-Orsi 1999). It is a priority species under the U.K. Biodiversity Action Plan (Aebischer and Ewald 2004). In the U.K., supplementary winter feeding is also being attempted to benefit this, and other declining granivorous birds, on farmland (Carroll et al. 2020). Reintroduction programmed in the U.K. have not been significantly successful however (Vinicombe et al. 1993). In Ireland, the species was estimated to number 1,000 individuals in 2010 resulting from intensive management of habitats, captive breeding and predator control (O'Gorman 2011). In North America the introduced population  is managed as gamebirds in 21 states, and are not hunted and/or protected in 4 states (Vander Zouwen 1990a): hunting regulations and stocking and habitat management programmes are in place (Jahn and Schenck 1990, Vander Zouwen 1990a, b) for a non-native population. 

Conservation Actions Proposed
Within Europe, recommendations to address current population reductions include: provision of good-quality nesting cover; reduction of nest predation by controlling impact of foxes, stoats and feral cats and improving insect abundance in spring so that chicks have sufficient prey items (Carroll et al. 2020).