It is a rotund bird, with a light brown back, grey breast and buff belly.
The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings.
The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. It is sometimes known as French partridge, to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge.
This is a seed-eating species, but the young in particular take insects as an essential protein supply. The call is a three-syllable ka-chu-chu.