Black Partridge vs African Blue Quail
Melanoperdix niger compared with Synoicus adansonii
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Black Partridge | African Blue Quail |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Melanoperdix niger | Synoicus adansonii |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Phasianidae | Phasianidae |
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 26.8 cm (10.6 in) | 14.9 cm (5.9 in) |
| Weight | 280.5 g (9.89 oz) | 41.666666666666664 g (1.47 oz) |
| Diet | Eats seeds, invertebrates, and small fruits on floor of Bornean and Sumatran lowland rainforests. Scratches … | Feeds on small grass seeds, invertebrates, and plant matter in African tropical grassland and wetland … |
| Clutch Size | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Black Partridge
Infrequently recorded; gives a series of sharp, nasal 'krek' calls from peat swamp forest floor. Alarm is a low explosive cluck; poorly documented due to rarity and secretive habits.
African Blue Quail
High, thin 'wee-wee-wee-wee' whistle in series; tiny, cryptic African grassland quail. Alarm is a sharp 'pip'. Very quiet overall; contact clucks barely audible. Calls at dawn and dusk.
Geographic Range & Migration
Black Partridge
Resident in lowland and montane forest of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo up to 1,500 m. Found in primary forest.
African Blue Quail
Nomadic resident of open grassland, wetland edge, and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Angola.
Conservation Status
Black Partridge
African Blue Quail
How to Tell Them Apart
Black Partridge
Strongly dimorphic: male is entirely glossy jet black; female is rich rufous-chestnut with dark barring on wings and finely scaled underparts. Extreme sexual dimorphism with no overlap in colour.
African Blue Quail
Male dark slaty-blue overall with chestnut flanks; white face markings with black border; similar to Asian Blue Quail. Female brown with buff streaking; pale underparts. African counterpart of Asian Blue …
About These Birds
Black Partridge
A small sexually dimorphic partridge (~280 g) of family Phasianidae, males entirely black and females rufous-brown. Endemic to lowland rainforests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Highly secretive, foraging on the forest floor for seeds and invertebrates in dense undergrowth. Vulnerable; declining with rapid lowland deforestation and conversion to palm oil plantations.
African Blue Quail
A tiny Phasianidae quail (~42 g) of tall grasses and moist savanna across sub-Saharan Africa. Males have a slaty-blue face and rusty-buff flanks; one of Africa's smallest birds. Highly secretive; rarely flushed. Feeds on tiny grass seeds and invertebrates. Migratory or nomadic following rains. Least Concern.