The partridge commonly seen in ancient poems is actually a fighter!

Recently, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Medog County, Nyingchi City, Tibet, has joined hands with a number of scientific research institutions to conduct in-depth field investigations and scientific monitoring. Three rare national second-level key protected wild animals have been discovered in the county - red-breasted mountain partridge, red-throated mountain partridge and ring-necked mountain partridge.

This important discovery has greatly enriched the diversity record of my country's bird resources and added a new chapter to biodiversity conservation.

Red-breasted mountain partridge Source: China Tibet News Network

Quail, a bird that frequently appears in ancient poetry

It occupies a special place in traditional Chinese culture.

Carrying rich cultural connotations

However, few people have seen partridges in real life. What is less known is that this bird is naturally brave and loves to fight, often even to the point of death. The "partridge cry" commonly seen in ancient poems is actually the prelude to their fights!

The "chicken" in flowery clothes

Chicken usually refers to the domestic chickens that we raise and lay eggs in our daily lives. From a biological point of view, chicken is actually a general term for 300 species of birds under the order Galliformes. Some of them are named "chicken", such as blue pheasant and snow chicken, while some have nothing to do with "chicken", such as white pheasant, painted pheasant, quail, peacock, etc.

Among the large and diverse group of Galliformes, the most species and the most common are Phasianidae. Among Phasianidae, in addition to the domesticated chickens of the genus Gallus, the more famous ones are quails and partridges. Body size is one of the important features that distinguish partridges, quails, and domestic chickens. Adult partridges generally weigh 300-400 grams, which is much smaller than domestic chickens and slightly larger than quails.

Most of the birds of the order Galliformes. Source: China Wild Birds Library

Partridges are an important member of the Phasianidae family worldwide, with more than 70 species, accounting for a quarter of the Phasianidae species. Under the Phasianidae family, partridges are subdivided into six categories: Partridge, Mountain Partridge, Ring-necked Partridge, Red-headed Partridge, and Crested Partridge.

Among them, the genus Partridge is particularly rich, including 21 different species, including the red-breasted partridge, red-throated partridge and ring-necked partridge mentioned above that were found in Medog County.

Red-throated Mountain Partridge

The partridge has a unique shape and distinct features: its beak is black, its eyes are dark brown, and its feathers are mainly black, white and brown, interwoven together to form a unique pattern. In particular, its back and chest are covered with many eye-shaped white spots, as if it were wearing a gorgeous flowery dress.

As a resident bird, partridges have specific preferences for the natural environment and they prefer to live in dry environments.

Therefore, partridges are mainly distributed in southern my country, including Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan and other places. In these places, Chinese partridge, as a representative bird of the genus Partridge, is one of the most common partridges in my country. This regional distribution characteristic also makes it rare for northerners to see partridges.

Chinese partridge Image source: Xinjiang Museum Network

Fighting male bird

As an omnivorous bird, partridges have a wide range of diets, which not only include weeds, wild fruits, seeds, young leaves and other plants, but also insects such as grasshoppers and ants, achieving a diet structure that combines meat and vegetables and is nutritionally balanced. This habit also gives them a strong physique and powerful claws.

Most of them follow the principle of "monogamy" and tend to move alone or in pairs rather than in groups. Foraging activities are mainly carried out in the early morning or dusk. They will walk in the forest to find food, and sometimes even use their claws to dig earthworms in the soil. Once frightened, partridges can fly quickly and straight to the treetops to seek safety.

Strong physique

The aggressive behavior of the partridge

Provides a solid "hardware" foundation

Among pheasants, partridges are known for their aggressive behavior, which is mainly reflected in two aspects:

One is the active challenge based on the sound . When they hear the calls of their own kind, they will take the initiative to come to the door to provoke a fight. When they meet, they will start a fierce pecking fight until the winner is determined.

The second is the fierce fight between male partridges for mates . They use their hard and powerful beaks as weapons to make their opponents' feathers fly. The fight lasts until one side is defeated and flees or even dies, and the winner wins the favor of the female partridge.

It is worth mentioning that

Before the fight for a spouse

The male partridge also performs

A unique “literary fight”

They show their charm through singing, and those with loud and long voices can usually stand out and win the favor of females.

The daily calls of partridges are rich and varied, including "coo-coo-coo", "cluck-cluck", "da-da-da", etc. These sounds are emitted intermittently, and are often combined into a "coo-coo-cluck-cluck" melody.

To people, the chirping sounds like "I can't go on, brother", as if telling them that the journey is difficult and they should not travel far. Such chirping not only adds a unique rhythm to the natural world, but also expresses the sadness and melancholy of relatives at the time of separation.

However, the aggressive nature of partridges also brings misfortune to them. In ancient times, bird catchers took advantage of this characteristic and placed captured male partridges next to the cage, using them as bait to lure other partridges to fight, thus achieving the goal of catching many with one.

Frequent guest in ancient poetry

The partridges, which grow in the south, have been favored by scholars and poets since ancient times for their love of singing and fighting nature. They are not only endowed with rich cultural connotations, but also frequently appear in ancient books and poems.

Initially, the ancients regarded the partridge as a fierce bird with a strong personality. According to the "Book of Birds" (Spring and Autumn Period), "Records of Strange Things" (Eastern Han Dynasty), "Notes on Ancient and Modern Times" (Western Jin Dynasty) and other classics, the partridge naturally flies south and never north.

Later, partridge was used to symbolize the deep longing of southerners living in the north for their hometown , or to express the sadness of separation through the sound of partridge.

Among the numerous poems, the most representative one is "Bodhisattva Man - Writing on the Wall of Jiangxi Zaokou" by Xin Qiji, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. The line "At dusk by the river, I feel sad, and in the deep mountains, I hear partridges" has become a famous line through the ages.

As an authentic northerner (from Jinan, Shandong), Xin Qiji worked hard for the anti-Jin cause throughout his life, but was demoted to Shangrao, Jiangxi and other places in the south. During his exile, he passed by the stoma wall in Jiangxi, and thought of his fallen hometown and the suffering country. Hearing the calls of the partridges in his hometown, he felt deeply sad and wrote this poem.

However, ancient people like Xin Qiji did not know that when they heard the cry of a partridge in the deep mountains, it was not the partridge's cry, but its cry of courting a mate or declaring its territorial sovereignty to its peers.

Traditional Chinese Painting "Bodhisattva Man·Writing on the Wall of Jiangxi Ostomy"

Image source: Qixiang.com

Additionally, the ancients observed that partridges often appeared in pairs, so they regarded them as a symbol of love.

This phenomenon frequently appears in Tang and Song poetry, such as Liu Yuxi's "Singing all the new lyrics, the joy is gone, the red clouds reflect the trees and the partridges are singing" and Cao Ye's "I urge you to go back quickly, just as the partridges are crying". In the Song Dynasty, many poems with "Queqiaotian" as the name of the ci tune emerged.

" Quail Sky " is also known as "Thinking of Jia Ke" and "Thinking of Yue Ren". Initially, poets used "Quail Sky" to describe the clear and bright sky because quails often fly in the blue sky. Later, it was often used to express sincere emotions, profound artistic conception and everlasting love. These poems have high artistic value.

Partridges have become a frequent guest in ancient poetry due to their unique charm. Today, they have been given the lofty status of national key protected wild animals. With their extraordinary charm that transcends time and space, they continue to attract the attention and care of the world.

The partridge is not only a pearl among the biodiversity of nature, but also a creature that carries profound cultural heritage and traditional symbolic significance.

Today, as we pursue harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, protecting partridges is to protect our common cultural memory and natural heritage. Let us work together to support a blue sky for these fighting birds, let their songs continue to resound through the forest, and let the poetic sentiment of "I am sad at dusk on the river, and I hear partridges in the deep mountains" be passed on forever.

END

References:

1. "A Brief Discussion on the Image of "Partridge Crying" in Classical Poetry", by Niu Jingli and He Ying, "Masterpiece Appreciation", No. 12, 2007

2. "On the Symbol of "Love Bird" in Huajian Ci", author Wu Yaping, Journal of Tangshan Normal University, No. 5, 2021

3. "Partridge - A Rare Bird in the Mountains That Brings Wealth" by Liu Xing, Yunnan Agriculture, No. 10, 2000

Author: Wei Deyong, member of Shenzhen Writers Association, Guangdong

Editor: Dong Xiaoxian