Unlike pheasants, lack of winter habitat does not seem to be a serious limiting factor for gray partridge. Rugged winter weather conditions in the northern regions of its native Eurasia seems to have better prepared the gray partridge for winter survival when compared to the ring-necked pheasant, native to the milder regions of central Asia. The partridge's ability to snow roost also gives it a distinct advantage over pheasant and bobwhite quail, which do not exhibit this behavior. Deep-crusted snow during some winters can prevent partridge from finding enough food. Under these conditions, partridge may adapt by feeding around corncribs or feed lots.
Broods raised along heavily traveled roads can suffer substantial road kill losses.
Hawks and owls take some partridge during the winter, and skunks and other mammals catch incubating hens and destroy nests. But predation as a whole does not appear to be too serious for partridge in Iowa. Hunting mortality is usually very low due to the wary nature of the birds. Habitat Needs Gray partridge seem to survive and even increase in numbers in intensively farmed regions unsuitable for other upland gamebirds. Gray partridge thrive in areas with abundant small grains, especially wheat, interspersed with light or moderately grazed pastures, idle areas, and row crops.