Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Hungarian Partridge



The 'Hun', known as grey partridge in most of the world, is an introduced species common in the Northern tier of the United Sates from Washington to Wisconsin. It has also established strong populations in the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In Europe, the grey partridge is distributed from Southern Portugal, Italy and Greece to the United Kingdom, Finland, and Northern Russia. It is a popular game bird across it's broad range.

The Hun is one of the finest species in North America for availability, sporting qualities and dog work. This position has traditionally been held by the bobwhite quail, which has declined rapidly across almost all its original range over the past twenty to thirty years.

The first Huns I ever saw flushed through the snow from under my horse's feet while I was riding through the breaks of the Snake River one November, many years ago. I was taken by them immediately. Since then I have hunted them in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan. I am hooked on Hunsand the beautiful country they inhabit.

The photo above was taken one of our Montana hunts by Clair Kofoed, was published in Shooting Sportsman Magazine, and I swiped a copy to post here. Clair has an eye for a great photo and this one is one of my favorites. 

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