GRAY PARTRIDGE WINTER HOME-RANGE AND USE OF HABITAT IN NORTH-DAKOTA

Gray partridge (Perdix perdix) appear to be able to tolerate more extensive cereal grain farming than other upland gamebirds in the northern plains. However, information on gray partridge use of habitats in this ecosystem is necessary to understand effects of changing farming practices, especially during a season associated with severe mortality. We studied 100 (17 coveys) radio-tagged gray partridge during winters 1955-87 to determine home ranges, movements, and use of habitat in north-central North Dakota. Mean convex polygon home-range size was 116 ha and mean movement per day was 256 m (n = 17 coveys). For radio-tagged coveys (n = 16), cereal grains and sunflowers accounted for >80% of locations. Proportions of habitats found within convex polygon home ranges were not different from study area availability (P = 0.08); however, proportions of individual radiolocations were different from availability within convex polygon home ranges (P = 0.005). Among radiolocations, the order of relative use of habitat from most to least was sunflower, cereal grain, summer fallow, farmstead/wooded, road/roadside, idle/wetland, and hay/pasture. The most frequented habitats were widely available in the study area. Farmstead/wooded habitats are apparently not used as extensively as has been previously reported in North Dakota, and the deep-snow condition when farmstead/wooded habitats were selected was not common. The introduction of sunflowers to this cereal grain ecosystem apparently provides gray partridge an important new winter habitat.