Illinois › Species › Chukar Partridge
No season
Illinois Rules for Chukar Partridge, No Season
Status, law and related seasons for chukar partridge in Illinois.
Photo: marneejill (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The rule for chukar partridge in Illinois
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Species | Chukar partridge |
| Illinois season | Closed all year |
| Rule | Chukar partridge is defined as a game bird in the Digest but has no season in the season tables |
IDNR prints no season, limit or permit for chukar partridge, so there is nothing to apply for; the rule above is the whole entry (Digest PDF page 7).
No chukar season is printed anywhere in the Digest tables, even though the definitions list the bird as game.
From Digest rule (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
What is legal game instead of chukar partridge
| Category | Animals | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Big game | white-tailed deer and wild turkey | Deer and turkey by permit; deer total limit two antlered deer per year. No elk, bear or other big game season. |
| Upland game birds | ring-necked pheasant (roosters only), bobwhite quail and Hungarian partridge | Chukar partridge is defined as a game bird in the Digest but has no season in the season tables; hen pheasants illegal except on controlled hunting areas. |
| Game mammals | eastern cottontail and swamp rabbit, gray squirrel and fox squirrel and woodchuck (groundhog) | |
| Small game (migratory) | mourning and white-winged dove, woodcock and crow | HIP certification required for doves and woodcock, not crows. |
| Migratory waterfowl | ducks, mergansers, coots, teal (early season), Canada goose, light geese (snow and Ross's), white-fronted goose, brant, rails (sora and Virginia) and Wilson's snipe | |
| Furbearers | raccoon, opossum, red fox, coyote, striped skunk, bobcat (by permit), badger, mink, muskrat, weasel (least and long-tailed), beaver, river otter and woodchuck | Gray fox hunting and trapping seasons are closed. |
These six groups are the species Illinois treats as legal game; chukar partridge is not among them, so the closest lawful options sit in these rows and on their species pages.
From Digest legal species pages (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Penalty entries for chukar partridge
| Topic | Stated penalty |
|---|---|
| False turkey permit applications | Providing false or deceptive information on a turkey permit application, in addition to criminal charges, results in rejected applications, revoked permit and forfeited fees (17 Ill. Adm. Code 710.10(k)(4)). |
| Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact | A wildlife privilege suspension in a compact state is also a suspension in Illinois for the duration; a violator who fails to comply with a citation in a participating state may have home-state privileges suspended until the terms are met. |
| Statutory fines and jail terms | The Digest does not state criminal penalty amounts. The Wildlife Code (520 ILCS 5) penalty sections were not retrieved (ilga.gov unreachable), so no fines or terms are listed. |
We do not print fines or jail terms for chukar partridge because neither the Digest nor the sources we could read give them.
From Digest page and 17 Ill. Adm. Code 710 (LII mirror, unofficial) (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
How to report a violation involving chukar partridge
If you see illegal take, write down place, time and description and report it to Target Illinois Poachers.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Wanton waste | Must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and include killed or crippled limited species in the bag; may not wantonly waste the usable meat (breast of a bird; hind ham and front shoulders of a mammal) or dump carcasses on a right-of-way or property without permission. |
| Possession limits and bags | May not possess game or furbearers over the daily or possession limit; each hunter must keep a separate bag; wildlife of another person must be tagged with name, address, species count and date unless in a home. |
From Digest page (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
A ring-necked pheasant hen on the edge of a marshPhoto: James Mann (CC BY 2.0)
A ring-necked pheasant rooster in dry reeds (photographed in Iowa)Photo: Jessica Bolser (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
A ring-necked pheasant rooster in green grass (photographed in Iowa)Photo: Joanna Gilkeson (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Chukar Partridge: common questions
Are chukar partridge open to hunting this year?
IDNR lists no season. Chukar partridge is defined as a game bird in the Digest but has no season in the season tables
What is the source for the chukar partridge rule?
Read it in the Digest, on PDF page 7 (printed page 5).
Which Illinois game species have seasons?
Open seasons are on the seasons page; legal groups include big game, upland birds, small game, waterfowl and furbearers.
What penalties apply for taking chukar partridge?
The Digest does not state criminal penalty amounts. The Wildlife Code (520 ILCS 5) penalty sections were not retrieved (ilga.gov unreachable), so no fines or terms are listed. A wildlife privilege suspension in a compact state is also a suspension in Illinois for the duration; a violator who fails to comply with a citation in a participating state may have home-state privileges suspended until the terms are met.
Where can I report poaching in Illinois?
Use the Target Illinois Poachers program, dnr.illinois.gov/lawenforcement/target-poachers, which the Digest names for reports.
Do I need permission for legal game on private land?
Private land does not alter the status of chukar partridge; the landowner permission rule concerns trespass for legal game.
Is a license needed to photograph chukar partridge?
The fee table has hunting, trapping and permit lines only; nothing for observation, and we do not state a rule the sources do not contain.
Which animals are protected besides chukar partridge?
Beyond this page, the Digest protects flying squirrel, red squirrel, white squirrel, eastern woodrat, golden mouse, rice rat, bats; black bear, gray wolf, mountain lion; trumpeter swan; gray fox.
Other photos on this page: James Mann (CC BY 2.0); Jessica Bolser (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Joanna Gilkeson (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region) (Public Domain Mark 1.0).