Can Bamboo Partridges Be Caught? A Full Explanation of the Relevant Regulations

The bamboo partridge, also known as the mud-slippery bird, bamboo francolin, flat-jar-jar, landlady, and so on, is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. This bird is distributed in the wild in the mountainous areas of the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and its plumage is brightly colored. So, can bamboo partridges be caught?

1. Can bamboo partridges be caught?

If it is just an ordinary bamboo partridge, it can be caught; if it is the Rufous-throated Partridge or the Chinese Bamboo Partridge, then it cannot be caught. This is because the Rufous-throated Partridge and the Chinese Bamboo Partridge are “three-keys” protected animals, listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under State Protection That Are Beneficial or Have Important Economic or Scientific Research Value, issued by China's State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000, and catching them without authorization may be illegal.

2. What does a bamboo partridge look like?

The bamboo partridge has a body length of about 30 cm and a weight of 200-350 grams; an adult male can reach about 300 grams. It is smaller in build than the francolin, with brown, spotted feathers. The beak is black or nearly brown, the forehead and eyebrow stripe are gray, and the top of the head and the back of the neck are tender olive-brown with small white spots. The breast is gray and forms a semicircular band, the front part of the underparts is chestnut-brown, gradually turning brownish-yellow toward the rear, the flanks have dark brown spots, and the tarsus and toes are yellowish-brown.

3. What food does the bamboo partridge eat?

The bamboo partridge feeds on weed seeds, vegetable leaves, tender shoots, granular fruits, and smaller insects, and it likes to eat termites. In artificial breeding it mostly eats corn, wheat, barnyard millet, and so on, and it also eats insects such as mealworms. In summer it is mostly active on the mountainside and the summit, and in winter it moves to the foot of the mountain, the streamsides, and the woods to forage. The bamboo partridge is not very afraid of people; if it is not disturbed, it can forage within a visible distance of 3-5 meters from a person.