Distribution and conservation status of Cyrenaica Partridge Alectoris [barbara] barbata

The subspecies of Barbary Partridge Alectoris barbara confined to northeast Libya and adjacent Egypt, A. b. barbata, has recently been posited to merit species rank, with the additional suggestion that it might be among the Western Palearctic's most threatened avian taxa. As a first step to assessing its conservation status, we review the distribution and habitat of A. b. barbata by collating all records and information available to us, including published literature, unpublished observations and museum holdings, adding evidence to the taxonomic issue by measuring 12 previously uninspected specimens. We identify and map 53 localities, with most (and all recent) records coming from the Jebel Akhdar massif, an area of relatively lush uplands in north-west Cyrenaica, Libya. We trace no certain record from Egypt since 1964. Hunting is blamed for widespread declines in populations but habitat degradation away from the Jebel Akhdar may have caused a considerable range contraction. A systematic survey of the Jebel Akhdar is needed to determine the species' conservation status. We agree that Cyrenaica Partridge A. barbata is a species, and add new data on its bolder flank stripes and longer tail.