Covey-oriented partridge management in France

For centuries winter-feeding of pheasants has been a common and successful management practice; winter-feeding of partridges has met with less success largely due to the covey-confined behaviour and inter-covey hostility of the monogamous and territorial partridge. Successful French experiments have recently been carried out with the construction and even distribution of special ‘partridge cafeterias’, providing food, shelter, sand-bath and water. These bird-oases in the modern, cover-deficient farm landscapes should preferably correspond in number and distribution to the covey territories during autumn-winter and thus provide easy access to food and cover for all partridges without territorial friction between coveys.