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Breeding Range. Fairly common (locally common) throughout the state except in the Agassiz Lake Plain Region and in the southern part of the Southern Drift Plain (portion within LaMoure, Dickey, Ransom, and Sargent Counties, and southwestern Richland County) where it is uncommon and local.

Early releases in North Dakota by the State Game and Fish Department include 50 pairs in 1915 and 50 pairs in 1923. During the period 1924 to 1934, a total of 7,500 birds imported from Czechoslovakia were released at various points in the state (Lowe 1942). Results of these plantings were augmented by an influx of birds from Alberta where successful stockings had taken place in 1908, 1909, and after 1922. In the northwestern counties the first records of newly arrived birds were reported in 1923, and by the early 1940's, established populations were found throughout the state (Johnson 1964). On the basis of roadside counts during July 1940, a statewide population of 4,000,000 was estimated (Saugstad et al. 1940). According to Miller (1955), peak numbers in North Dakota were reached in the early 1940's when the population was estimated to be 8 or 10 million birds.

Breeding Habitat. Like the Ring-necked Pheasant, the Gray Partridge is essentially a bird of the agricultural croplands and adjoining edge habitats. However, the Gray Partridge appears to require less cover than does the pheasant and is often found on exposed open fields with only a limited amount of available cover. In general, preferred habitats include fields of corn, wheat, and barley with weedy field borders, adjoining shelterbelts, or nearby abandoned farm yards.

Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-May to mid-September; peak, late May to late August. The hatching dates of 13,325 immature birds, shot during the 1966 hunting season, were estimated by Gerald D. Kobriger on the basis of wing feather development. The results are as follows: before June 8, 0.8 percent; June 9-22, 23.4 percent; June 23-July 6, 31.5 percent; July 7-20, 22.9 percent; July 21-August 3, 14.7 percent; August 4-August 17, 5.9 percent; after August 18, 0.8 percent.

Of 23 nests found in Bottineau County in 1942, 91 percent were situated in sweetclover, roadsides, or heavy grass that comprised one-third of the area studied (L. H. Dundas). In 1955, four nests were found in Dickey County, and, of these, two nests were in shelterbelts, one nest was along a fence row, and one nest was located in an alfalfa field (C. R. Grondahl). During 1966-1970. three nests on the Woodworth Field Station of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Stutsman County were located in nonuse grassland (L. M. Kirsch). Two of these nests contained 16 and 18 eggs.