Black partridge

For the 19th centuryPottawatomiechieftain, seeBlack Partridge (chief).

Black partridge
Conservation status
Vulnerable(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Rollulinae
Genus:	Melanoperdix Jerdon,1864
Species:	M. niger
Binomial name
Melanoperdix niger (Vigors,1829)

Theblack partridge(Melanoperdix niger), also known as theblack wood partridge,is a small (up to 27 cm long)partridgewith a thickbill,grey legs and dark browniris.It is the only member of the monotypic genusMelanoperdix.

The black partridge issexually dimorphic.The male has entirely glossy black plumage and a black bill, while the female is generally a chestnut-brown bird with a whitish throat and belly and a dark horn-colored bill. The female is smaller than the male.

The black partridge occurs in lowland rainforests ofPeninsular Malaysia,BorneoandSumatrainsoutheast Asia.It was formerly found but is long extinct onSingapore.The female usually lays five to six white eggs.

Due to ongoinghabitat loss,small population size andoverhuntingin some areas, the black partridge is evaluated asVulnerableon theIUCN Red Listof Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III ofCITESinMalaysia.

Subspecies

The black partridge has two recognized subspecies:

• M. n. borneensis(Rothschild, 1917)
• M. n. niger(Vigors, 1829)

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet