Rock Partridge

Croatia is an excellent country in which to get to grips with Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca). It was one of the sought after species on my recent trips. A "lifer" for many tour participants. They are common in Dalmatia, from sea-level up into the mountains, but often tricky to see, as they tend to flush and speed off rapidly into bushy cover. We had several flight views before finally getting birds perched on the top of rocks. I know several birders who have long European lists but who still "need" this species. I have also met several who have "seen" it and ticked it in countries where it does not occur! One of the reasons for this is that its range is poorly documented and, for example, in the Collins Bird Guide (overall the best European field guide and the one which is widely used) the range map for Rock Partridge is wrong. The maps for Rock Partridge and the similar Chukar (Alectoris chukar) are swopped. Rock Partridge should be shown as occurring in the central southern European region and the western Balkans and Chukar in the eastern Balkans and Turkey. The maps in Birds of Europe (Helm) are more accurate.