Partridge numbers become paltry

November 21, 2000
Web posted at: 11:51 AM EST (1651 GMT)

By Avril Stephens, CNN.com Europe writer

(CNN) -- It has been featured on restaurant menus and in traditional Christmas carols, but the partridge looks set to disappear from Britain's skylines.

It is one of a handful of species, including the turtledove and the corn bunting, that have dwindled in such numbers in the UK that ornithological groups have set up a task force to help preserve them.

The turtledove, which shares a mention with the partridge in the carol Twelve Days of Christmas, can also claim a history dating back to the Bible.

"It is from its plaintive and continuous note, doubtless, that David, pouring forth his heart's sorrow to God, compares himself to a turtledove," reads Luke 2:24.

The British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) estimates that the number of UK grey partridges has fallen by 43 percent during the past five years -- one of the biggest drops of any species observed by its 2,400 volunteers since the first official comprehensive survey began in 1994.

The turtledove has seen its numbers decline by 18 percent over the same period.

The BTO blames the dramatic reduction in numbers in Britain on modern intensive farming techniques that kill off weeds and insects -- the birds' staple diet.

The BTO, a charity set up in 1933, is an independent, scientific research trust that investigates the populations, movements and ecology of wild birds in the British Isles.

So far, Eastern Europe has remained comparatively unscathed, with species such as the corncrake thriving there. The region's biggest problem at the moment is that, since the fall of communism, farmland has been left fallow, removing a food supply for birds including the skylark.

The possible expansion of the European Union to include Eastern European countries could change that -- and not necessarily to the birds' benefit, according to the RSPB.

Paul Donald, research biologist at the RSPB, said: "There is a link between the Common Agricultural Policy, which underlines the EU's farming approach, and the fall in certain bird numbers," he said. "It encourages intensification in farming practices. If Eastern European countries join the EU, we hope (the EU) does not impose the same incentives."

He added: "I also think that the way the political situation is changing in Europe with enlargement, that the CAP approach may change towards more environmental policies.

"The UK is going down that line -- it is using £6 billion of its CAP money over three years to encourage more environmental farming away from intensive farming."

Concern in the UK for the decline in numbers of the partridge and turtledove has led to both species being placed on the Biodiversity Action Plan, a joint scheme by the government and conservation organisations such as the British bird charity the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), designed to preserve bird species under threat.

"The number of wild birds is used as an indicator by the government on the quality of life," said Richard Bashford, national organiser of the BTO's Breeding Bird Survey.

"We are trying to find out what is going wrong and what the species need."

Some species have already stopped breeding, including the corn bunting, the red-backed shrikes and corncrake, according to the RSPB.

A major change leading to the reduction of some species is the transformation of British farmland from mixed agriculture to mono-farming.

"There appears to be a lack of food for the chicks," added Bashford.

"We are more effective at getting rid of the weeds which insects feed on and both of which the grey partridge relies on. The chicks are being born, but not surviving."

The grey partridge, called English partridge because it is a native of the country, also comes under attack from French hunters who illegally shoot the birds as they migrate from Africa to Britain, according to the BTO.

Among other problems, the possible disappearance of the plump, short-tailed partridge throws the words of the Twelve Days of Christmas into question.

"There is a danger it could become an anachronism if the partridge becomes extinct," says Christine MacLeod, chairwoman of the choral group One Voice. "It does not sound the same when you sing a greylag goose in a pear tree -- too many syllables. And it does not sound so romantic."

The partridge, which resides in rocky mountain slopes and forest floors as well as in trees, could be forced off the menu at one of the UK's most famous and oldest game restaurants, Rules, in Covent Garden.

The restaurant, which was one of Edward VII's favourites, always features a partridge recipe -- currently with foie gras, pea pudding and thyme.

But grey partridge, scientific name Perdix perdix, has already been swapped in Rules' kitchen for red-legged partridge because of cost.

The red-legged partridge, introduced many years ago from Southern Europe, costs a mere £2.25 ($3.19) per bird compared with £4.85 ($6.87) for a grey partridge.

"English partridge is nice, with a delicate flavour, and it would be detrimental if it went altogether," said Rules Managing Director Ricky McMenemy. "But because they have become so rare, prices have shot up."

But some bird species in the BTO survey are rising in numbers, including the greylag goose, up 100 percent during the past five years, and the lesser black-backed gull, up 46 percent.

Other winners are the grey wagtail, up 40 percent, and the stonechat, up 80 percent.

In fact, more species have gained than lost -- by 35 to 26. Those to gain most have been woodland species and aerial-feeding birds.

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The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Rules restaurant
The British Trust for Ornithology

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