Re-evaluation of the role of the grey partridge Perdix perdix as a disperser of arable weed seeds
The endozoochorous dispersal of weed seeds, mediated by birds and without any adaptation to frugivory, has been studied very rarely. We studied the endozoochorous dispersal of viable seeds by the grey partridge Perdix perdix in agricultural landscape. We assessed the content of intact seeds in 609 grey partridge droppings coming from 21 sampling sites in Poland that included three land-cover types (winter cereals, winter oil-seed rape and stubble fields). We found 159 intact seeds of 13 plant species. Most of them are classified as plants without any evolved adaptations to dispersal.