of tho marauder could lie obtained, and on proceeding to search further, I dUMOTOted thai erery egg
bad already disappeared from the nest. It was a fact tbat in this, as In every betnnttl where stoats
were believed to have been the culprits, not even a single lien ever returned to lay in the same
nest, and even the surrounding shelter in tho immediate neighbourhood was entirely deserted. How
a stoat conveys an egg is a question I should much like to see solved: the means alsi by which he
breaks it and extracts the contents appears also a mystery. These eggs bad in all probability ben
transported to a large heap of rotten stumps and routs of trees, stacked in a ditch overgrown with nettles
and brambles, about thirty or forty yards distant from the nest, as some broken shells were delected
in the cavities among the rubbish by one of the farm-laliourers, who endeavoured to find traces of where
they had been taken. As I intended leaving the district in a day or two, there was not sufficient
time to obtain the assistance of any one who possessed ferrets, and to make a thorough clearance of
the litter, in order to reach the quarters of these freebooters, which were doubtless situated in the innermost
recesses of this large pile of decayed timber*.
It is a curious fact that I'artridgcs, if driven over water or towns, appear to get bewildered, and
losing all power of flight, drop down and suncr tl isclves to be picked up rather than rise again.
There is a mistaken Idee that a land-bird is unable to rise from water; I have, however, repeatedly men
several of the waders tb.it have fallen wounded get up from both salt and fresh water when an attempt
was made to cll'cct a capture. Tho present speeii-s is without doubt one of the most reluctant to make
an effort to escape, though they will occasionally do so. The first year that the Easter Volunteer Rcvicw
was held on the Downs in the neighbourhood of Brighton the wind was blowing strong from the north,
and during the sham light great numbers of I'artridgcs were disturbed by the crowds of spi-etntors and
the noise of the firing, and becoming confused flew out to sea, where tiny fell into the water. Several
boats which happened to be under tho cliffs profited by their misfortunes, one alone getting between
twenty and thirty birds. Next year over a score of boats were on the spot, awaiting the coming of tho
unfortunate Partridges; the wind, however, was luckily from the south, and carried the affrighted bird*
inland, not one going out to sen. Early one morning in Dceemlier I was going towards the
central station at St. Leonard*, when a covey of ten or a dozen Partridges caught my attention as
they were in the act of settling in a small open square in the back part of the town. On being chased
by some boys and a few snapping -mill dogs, they never attempted to use their wings, hut rushm"
rapidly before their pursuers, sought shelter in the open doors, or fluttered helplessly down the areas.
Telegraph-wires often cause hoary losses to Partridges ; the lines that stretch across the Bep's Marshes
near llcigham bridge, In the cast of Norfolk, have brought down at one time or another many birds
of various kinds, and the present species has repeatedly been picked up near this spot. In tho winter
of 181)7, I was watching a covey flying west over the downs near Bottingdeau, in .Sussex, when three
birds fell after contact with the wires, the head of one unfortunate being cut off as clean as with a knife.
It docs not follow that a bird that has suffered from a broken wing and made Its escape never recovers
from its injuries. Sonic years back I killed a brace from n covey in the marshes near Ludham, in
the east of Norfolk, all of which appeared strong on wing; the hones, however, that I kept plainly
indicate that a fracture had previously taken place in the first joint of the wing of one, which by some
means had become set, and joined again in a most satisfactory manner.
I was not aware that Partridges were accustomed to lie on the alert or move about by ruoonlighl,
till, while proceeding in search of whiter Ptarmigan, and commencing to make an ascent of one iff the
lower slopes of Cairngorm, a hill to the north of the river Lyon in Perthshire, abuut 3 A.M. one morning
COMMON PARTRIDGE. 7
in December 18(57, I happened to turn round and detected some dark objects slowly making their way
over a stubblo on the luw ground below us, on which was a thin coaling of snow. After a lew minutes'
watching, a steady view through the glasses convinced the keeper and myself that they must be a
eovey of Partridges engaged in searching for food; the fact that we were well aware n brood had been
hatched near at baud, and still resorted to that part of the ground, also strengthened the idea. As we
were only a hundred yards or so up the hill-side, and there was sufficient time for reaching the higher
flats of the mountains licfore daybreak, we turned back to obtain a cluser inspection and ascertain what
could have induced the birds to be on the move at such an hour. On crossing the road at the foot of
the hill winch runs up the glen, I directed the keeper to take my second gun, and if the birds rose within
range to do his best to fill the bag. There was no difficulty in ascertaining the whereabouts of this covey,
as they were aB clearly in view, and it was now evident that we had not made a mistake as to their
identity. Before wo arrived within fivc-and-twenty yards, the small party ran together, instantly rising on
wing, when four out uf the five were accounted for. The survivor returned, circling round and finally
pitching in some rough cover over a wall near at hand; but though calling loudly there was not sufficient
light to make another attempt for a shot, so we left the poor bird to its own resources and at unco
made tracks for Hie bill-tops. On our return in the afternoon, after a most satisfactory day's sport, we
reached the same spot as the day was closing in, and just as the children from the few scattered
•healing!, termed a village, were leaving the school. Remarking that the youngsters were in pursuit
of some small object uttering shrill cries, we hastened to ascertain what bad attracted their attention,
when, on arriving within a short distance, the bird that bad escaped us in tin; early morning rose from
the middle of the road and passed over our beads, offering a chance for a shut that was not thrown
nway. A Tew years hack, when writing to the keeper, Donald MncKerchar, I referred to this fact of tho
birds being on the move before daybreak, stating I had never since that time met with a similar uccurrcnce,
and received the following lines in reply:—"You are quite right about the Partridges we saw feeding
before dawn. I remember it very well, and about the winged bird that was piping after the children as
they were going from school." Some of the circumstances bad, however, slipped the memory of this very
observant keeper, as he referred to the Partridge that escaped in the morning as being winged; thuugh
the curious shrill notes the bird uttered, which he described as "piping," and were certainly the most
singular sounds I ever heard proceed from the throat of this species, were evidently still impressed on bis
mind.
During the years I rented the shootings of Inucrw ick, in Clenlyon, in Perthshire, I found the ground
adapted fur Partridges was limited to the narrow and winding stretch of laud under cultivation adjoining
tho river-hauks, and the lower slopes of the bills, where brakes and long coarse grass took the place of
the heather. Rarley and oats were the only scanty crops of grain that were grown, and I have often
seen these in stock on the fields by the river-side so late as November. There were a few green parks that
provided good feeding for cattle and horses, to which the Partridges now and then made their way, and some
extensive grass-marshes with swamps and slades, where rushes and other rank plants flourished in profusion ;
the small patches of potatoes were also one of the favourite resorts of these birds. I soon discovered that
the stock of Partridges on my land, which extended for about five miles olong the course of the river,
amounted to only six or seven coveys. The first season I was there the Grouse and Wildfowl, together
with fishing and the work of setting traps for vermin, occupied nearly the wdiole of my time, and only
three or four brace of Partridges were bagged. Tho next year, owing to the numbers left, I anticipated
that many more coveys would be seen; this, however, was soon discovered to bo a mistaken idea, as only
seven or eight broods could he found, and one or two of these kept so closely to the "march," that there
was no telling on which side they might he met with. As sparing the birds appeared of no avail in