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Perdicinae

{{short description|Subfamily of birds}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Perdicinae

| image = Perdix perdix (Marek Szczepanek).jpg

| image_caption = Grey partridge (Perdix perdix)

| taxon = Perdicinae

| authority = Horsfield, 1821

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision =

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Perdicinae is a polyphyletic former subfamily of birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae, regrouping the partridges, Old World quails, and francolins.

{{Cite book |title=The Quails, Partridges, and Francolins of the World |year=1988 |last1=Johnsgard |first1=P. A. |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK}}

Although this subfamily was considered monophyletic and separated from the pheasants, tragopans, junglefowls, and peafowls (Phasianinae) till the early 1990s,

{{Cite book |title=The Pheasants of the World |year=1986 |last1=Johnsgard |first1=P. A. |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK}}

molecular phylogenies have shown that these two subfamilies actually constitute only one lineage. For example, some partridges (Perdix genus) are more closely affiliated to pheasants, whereas Old World quails and partridges from the Alectoris genus are closer to junglefowls.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1006/mpev.1998.0562 |title=A molecular phylogeny of the pheasants and partridges suggests that these lineages are not monophyletic |year=1999 |last1=Kimball |first1=R. T. |last2=Braun |first2=E. L. |last3=Zwartjes |first3=P. W. |last4=Crowe |first4=T. M. |last5=Ligon |first5=J. D. |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=38–54 |pmid=10082609}}{{Cite journal |doi=10.7717/peerj.361 |title=Does more sequence data improve estimates of galliform phylogeny? Analyses of a rapid radiation using a complete data matrix |year=2014 |last1=Kimball |first1=Rebecca T. |last2=Braun |first2=Edward L. |journal=PeerJ |pages=e361 |volume=2 |pmid=24795852 |pmc=4006227 |doi-access=free }} Due to this, the subfamily Perdicinae is no longer recognized by the International Ornithological Congress, with the species being split among 3 subfamilies.{{Cite web|title=Taxonomic Updates – IOC World Bird List|url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/taxonomy/|access-date=2021-07-15|language=en-US}}

Perdicinae is a non-migratory Old World group. These are medium-sized birds, and are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. They are ground-nesting seed-eaters. The subfamily includes the partridges, the snowcocks, the francolins, the spurfowl and the Old World quail.

Species list in taxonomic order

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References

{{Reflist}}

{{Birds}}

{{Phasianidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q9304816}}

Category:Phasianidae