BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Alectoris chukar
Chukar
| Scientific Name: | Alectoris chukar (Gray, 1830) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Chukar | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-CHUK | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | SNA (Mar 2015) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Exotic | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 7 - Exotic (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Clutch size is about 8-15. Incubation by female lasts 22-23 days (some authorities state male may incubate 1st clutch while female lays a 2nd). Nestlings are precocial. Young are almost full-size at 84 days. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | In favorable habitat density may reach levels of 1 bird per 4 ha (Bureau of Land Management, no date). In late summer family groups may join and form larger groups. Males reportedly may leave female during incubation and spend summer with other males. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Grassland/Shrub / Antelope-brush Steppe / Unknown
Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Unknown Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Unknown Grassland/Shrub / Sagebrush Steppe / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Cliff / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Talus / Unknown |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Rocky hillsides, mountain slopes with grassy vegetation, open and flat desert with sparse grasses, and barren plateaus (AOU 1983). In North America, prefers rocky slopes in sagebrush-grassland communities where water is available. In North America, nests usually in sagebrush-grasslands on slopes of hills, on the ground, near the cover of a rock, shrub, or clump of grass, in a shallow depression lined with vegetation, leaves, and feathers. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Granivore: Adult, Immature
Herbivore: Adult, Immature |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Feeds primarily on seeds and leaves. Also eats some fruits and insects. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Most foraging activity occurs in mid-morning and sometimes into afternoon. In hot weather may be inactive near water at midday (Bureau of Land Management, no date). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 36/ / 619 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Native to Eurasia. Introduced and resident in North America, from British Columbia, northern Idaho, central and eastern Montana south to northern Baja California, southern Nevada, northern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and south-central Colorado. Also Hawaii (established on all main islands except Oahu) (AOU 1983). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Sep 26, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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Bureau of Land Management. Life History Summaries. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 409 pp. + 45 plates. |
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Randi, E., and P. U. Alkon. 1994. Genetic structure of chukar (ALECTORIS CHUKAR) populations in Israel. Auk 111:416-426. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Alectoris chukar. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed May 15, 2025).