The Udzungwa Forest Partridge, Xenoperdix udzungwensis also known as Udzungwa Partridge is a small, approximately 29 centimetres (11 in) long, boldly barred, brownish partridge with rufous face, grey underparts, olive-brown crown and upperparts. It has a red bill, brown iris and yellow legs. Both sexes are similar.
Discovered only in 1991, this bird was first noticed as a pair of strange feet in a cooking pot in a Tanzanian forest camp. It inhabits and is endemic to forests of the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. A second population from the Rubeho Highlands was initially believed to be a well-marked subspecies, but is now recognized to be specifically distinct. The diet consists mainly of beetles, ants and seeds.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, limited range and overhunting in some areas, the Udzungwa Forest Partridge is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Famous quotes containing the words forest and/or partridge:
“What is most striking in the Maine wilderness is the continuousness of the forest, with fewer open intervals or glades than you had imagined. Except the few burnt lands, the narrow intervals on the rivers, the bare tops of the high mountains, and the lakes and streams, the forest is uninterrupted.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The partridge and the rabbit are still sure to thrive, like true natives of the soil, whatever revolutions occur. If the forest is cut off, the sprouts and bushes which spring up afford them concealment, and they become more numerous than ever. That must be a poor country indeed that does not support a hare. Our woods teem with them both.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)