December 2023 - 28

S
harp-tailed grouse or
a pheasant could kick
up at any moment as
we slogged up a small rise in
the sea of wavy, golden grass
speckled with blue-green
sage. Lance, our enthusiastic
two-year-old English setter,
suddenly locked up.
" That's a point, " yelled my husband, Jack.
Lance was just learning to hunt upland birds
and was just as likely to flush them as to point
them. The point was progress.
Jack and I approached the spot, ready for
the inevitable explosion. It came, but 30 yards
away. By the time I shot, the covey was 50
yards out, a long shot but I made a good one.
A bird dropped. Lance and our 10-year-old
dog, Percy, bounded toward it.
" Those were Huns, " Jack said as we paused
to see which dog would retrieve the downed
bird. The younger one was faster. Soon I had
a Hun, short for Hungarian partridge or gray
partridge, in my hand. It was Lance's first
partridge.
THE BIRD
To our delight, we found three more coveys
of gray partridge, a rust-faced game bird
common to Wyoming and other northern
Rocky Mountain states, during the next two
hours. These birds appear more blue-gray
than true gray with peppered bellies and rich
rust and brown markings on their wings and
backs. Introduced from Europe more than a
century ago, this pudgy, short-billed bird eats
seeds and forbs, and often congregates around
grain fields. They stand about a foot tall and
weigh about a pound.
" We always have gray partridge in Wyoming, "
said Bart Kroger, Wyoming Game
and Fish Department wildlife biologist. " Their
populations aren't cyclical like grouse. It fluctuates
annually depending on clutch size, nest
success and chick survival. We can have several
good years, then a year that seems like they're
down to almost nothing. "
Huns are known for their large clutch size,
up to 23 eggs. That doesn't mean all those
28 | December 2023
Keep your dog close when hunting gray partridges. (Photo by Jack Ballard)

December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2023

December 2023 - 1
December 2023 - 2
December 2023 - 3
December 2023 - 4
December 2023 - 5
December 2023 - 6
December 2023 - 7
December 2023 - 8
December 2023 - 9
December 2023 - 10
December 2023 - 11
December 2023 - 12
December 2023 - 13
December 2023 - 14
December 2023 - 15
December 2023 - 16
December 2023 - 17
December 2023 - 18
December 2023 - 19
December 2023 - 20
December 2023 - 21
December 2023 - 22
December 2023 - 23
December 2023 - 24
December 2023 - 25
December 2023 - 26
December 2023 - 27
December 2023 - 28
December 2023 - 29
December 2023 - 30
December 2023 - 31
December 2023 - 32
December 2023 - 33
December 2023 - 34
December 2023 - 35
December 2023 - 36
December 2023 - 37
December 2023 - 38
December 2023 - 39
December 2023 - 40
December 2023 - 41
December 2023 - 42
December 2023 - 43
December 2023 - 44
December 2023 - 45
December 2023 - 46
December 2023 - 47
December 2023 - 48
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-iak-special-issue
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/dec-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/January2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/September2020
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