made at the distance o f about three yards ; and she remained on her nest during the time the work was
going on, and is still sitting, though a t the funeral there were many persons standing round the grave and
several on the flat tombstone.—June 21, 1870.”
To say that with us the Partridge is migratory would be incorrect ; but it appears to be certain that it
does occasionally change its locale, so as to almost desert an estate on which it has been plentiful, and take
up its quarters on an adjoining one. I believe, however, that they merely sojourn there for a time, and
return to the d istrict ¡11 which they were bred. The reverse, however, is the case on the Continent. There,
when the rigour o f winter covers the face o f the northern and central parts o f Germany with deep snow
for three months a t a time, the Partridges o f those districts cannot exist. Burrowing beneath the snow is, I
am aware, occasionally resorted to ; but the temperature, when it falls below zero, speedily urges the birds to
remove further south, where grasses and other plants may still be found. While travelling over the northern
part of Europe in winter, I have seen numbers o f coveys huddled together for the sake o f warmth.
Partridges occasionally occur clothed in a very singular chestnut-coloured livery. By some persons these
are regarded as a distinct species, by others as a cross between a Partridge and a Grouse or the Common
Partridge and the Red-Ieg : for myself I am confident that they are not due to either cause ; a t the same
time I must admit that I am unable to throw any light on the subject o f these abnormally coloured birds ; in
size they do not differ from the common species ; and usually both sexes have the horseshoe mark on the
b reast; but in many o f the females from the chalk-districts it is white instead of chestnut-coloured; sometimes
the females o f a whole covey are so distinguished.
There is, perhaps, no one o f our game birds that gives more pieasnre to the sportsman than the P artridge
does, and is stdi likely to do—the Grouse, which principally inhabit the northern portion o f the British
Islands, annually becoming more scarce, and the Partridge encroaching upon the lands from which the
Grouse have been driven by the process of clearing and cultivation; what is loss to the one, therefore,
is gain to the other. ' Those whom circumstances do not permit to visit the heather-clothed hills of
Scotland, Wales, or Ireland on the 12th o f August take up their guns on the 1st o f September and'traverse
the parched lowlands, where numerous great “ bags” are from time-to time made on the estates o f rich
landed proprietors; but as an enumeration o f the many instances on record would merely serve to amuse
those who are fond of sport, and not answer any scientific purpose, I omit them, contenting myself with
mentioning that fifty, and even a hundred, brace are said to have fallen to the gun o f a good shot in a single
day; and where “ driving” is resorted to, as it frequently is in most of onr midland counties, five or six
hundred birds are often counted at the end o f a day’s sport.
“ The Partridge,” says the Rev. C. A. Johns, I though decorated with no brilliant colours, which would
tend to thwart it in ifc habit of concealing itself among vegetation o f the same general hue as itself, is a
beautiful bird. Its gait is graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised, and its plumage, though
devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pencilled, each feather on the back and breast being veined like ’
the gauzy wings o f a fly. The most conspicuous p art of the plumage o f the male bird, the horseshoe on
its breast, is invisible, as it walks or crouches ; and the general tone is that o f the soil. The nest is merely a
depression in the ground into which a few straws or dead leaves have been drawn. When the hen is sitting,
the male bird remains in the neighbourhood, and gives timely warning of the approach o f danger; when thé
eggs are hatched he accompanies his mate, and shares in the work o f teaching the young to shift for themselves,
The food of both old and young is to a great extent insects; the young are especially fond of
ants and their larvse. The number o f eggs varies from ten to fifteen or more. The character o f the
Partridge s flight is familiar to most people. Simultaneously with the startled cry o f alarm from the cock
comes a loud v,h,r-r-r, as o f a spinning-wheel jjgway fly the whole party in a body, keeping a horizontal
nearly straight hue. In turns each bird ceases to beat its wings, and sails on for a few yards with extended
pinions, then phes its wings again, and, i f | | h a s so long escaped the fowler, may consider itself out of
danger; for its flight, though laboured, is tolerably rapid.
“ The call o f the Partridge is mostly ottered in the evening, as soon as the beetles begin to buzz. The
birds are now proceeding to roost, which they always do in the open field, the covey forming a circle will,
their heads outwards, to be 0,1 the watch against their enemies, of whom they have many. They feed for
the most part in the middle o f the day, and vary in size according to the abundance o f their favourite food ”
The plate represents the two sexes, o f the natural size. The plant is the Bladder Catch-fly o r Campion
(otlene inflata). 1