BED- LEGGED PA I1TRIDUE.
from the Continent to the Norfolk coast ; anil ns a proof of this assertion it may be stated that there ia no
mention made in any work of the presence of this species, till foreigners were imported and turned
down on our shores. That the birds are restless and excited in spring, and make occasionally vain
attempts to change their quarters, is by no means unlikely, and this is doubtless the cause of the
ndditional nttmliers seen near the coast and round the broads. If we were annually visited by these
wanderers from foreign countries in the spring, some would certainly lake their departure again in the autumn.
1 can, however, find no reference to any having been seen while gathering in the vicinity of the coast
nt that time of year, nor have they been observed on the passage by the men on the light-ships or the
crews of the lislung-boats I have conversed with.
It is stated by several writers that Red-legged Partridges often settle on trees or on hedges and
walls; il is, however, but seldom I have seen them in such elevated positions. A few years hack one was
noticed perched on the point of the shaft of a farm-roller which was tilted up in a held near Brighton;
a week later ns I drove along the road a bird was again calmly surveying the scene from the same
spot. In September 1884, while in pursuit of a mixed bag over the tint country between Cambridge
and Newmarket, I noticed three or four clustered on a stack of peats in t£ui fen ; two or three also at
different times have attracted my attention on gates or the adjoining posts and rails.
I was not aware that the marten was found in Sussex, or even in the south of England, till
early in tho summer a few years hack, wdiile passing through one of those long straggling beechwoods
that spread along the slopes of the South Downs facing the north, I caught sight of what at
first appeared an immense stoat descending the trunk of a large beech tree. Tho animal came down
slowly, deliberately placing one font below the other, and proceeding with the greatest case, though
bow it held on to the smooth bark was a mystery. On reaching an extending root it dropped to
the ground at once, and disappeared in the dense undergrowth, before I had time to pick up my gun,
which boil been laid down, and ascertain with certainty its identity. A further view of the stranger
bad just raised a doubt as to whether it was not a beech-marten ; and this I now believe to have been
the case. Though a thorough search was shortly after made through the grove with the assistance of a
keeper and his dog who had arrived on the scene, no signs of the robber could be discovered. Tho
fresh-killed remains of a newly batched young Bed-legged Partridge had first attracted my attention,
lying on the bank at the side of a rough cart-track through tho wood, and an examination of tho
surrounding stunted bushes and long coarse grass revealed the nest also on tho top of the bank, from
which the juvenile must have but lately made its way. Ten cgg-sheUs were laying around, and it is
probable that the youngster bad been seized and killed while the brood were making their way for the
iirst time from their cradle. By the nature of the wound in the throat from which the blood hail been
sucked, it was evident that one or other of the stoat tribe had committed the murder, and doubtless my
approach had prevented the marauder from bearing off his victim to the spot where his larder was
stored up. Before leaving, the keeper pointed out the nest, with the egg-shells still remaining, in which
a Common Partridge had hatched off a brood of sixteen, on the top of the bank on the opposite
side or the road, and within the distance of four or live yards of the spot the Bed-legged bird bad
selected for her nursery. An hour or so earlier, and immediately after the marten had descendi-d from
the tree, I had sat down on the twisted mots of a large beech to watch quietly for a few minutes in case
this peculiar-looking creature might again he observed within shot. Suddenly a sound us though small
twigs among the brauehes wen- lieing cut, followed by a sharp crack or click, as if a bullet had buried
itself in the hark of tho tree above, caught my ear, ond there was little doubt that a hall from n rifle
had struck the Hem of the liccch tree. The day was fine and with scarcely a breath or wind, still no
report had been beard; and wouderhig when- Hie weapon could have been fired, I looked carefully round
KliD-Ll-GGP.l) I'AKTBIDGE. ;i
in all dim-lions wilh Hie glasses, but detected no signs of any one, with the exception of the gamekeeper
with • gun over bis shoulder, and followed by a retriever, slowly making his way down tho steep side
of the hills from the high downs to the south of the wood. Tho deep brown glossy velveteen in which
he was attired nt once drew my attention; although this material may he most appropriate for keepers
while attending fo a shooting-parly, when it is necessary that their whereabouts should be well known
to all tho sporlsmen while they arc employed in enforcing order nmong the beaters, or working a pack
of beagles in flic large beds of furze, it must be a great drawback tu success when on the watch for
prowling cgg-stealers in the spring, or waiting for the loafing ruffians from tho lowest quarters of the
nearest towns, who now and then work over the furze-clad downs with ferrets and nets. The various
shades of grey nod brown homespun shepherds' plaids, generally made usit of by the Highland foresters
and keepers, render Ihe wearers almost invisible at a short distance, and would doubtless prove far more
suitable than such a conspicuous material for the southern guardians of our preserves while engaged in
prelecting the game committed to their charge from the attacks of the poaching fraternity. The keeper
who, ns previously stilled, assisted in searching for the marten said he hud never seen any animal of
that family, with the exception of stoats and weasels, cither on the downs or in the woods on the low
grounds; and be Imagined that if one was to lie mot with in the locality il must have escaped from
confinement, as he had heard of ouo or two being brought into the district I'roiu Scotland by somu
sportsmen who had moors in the Northern Highlands, With regard to stouts and weasels, this relentless
destroyer of vermin asserted that these merciless and bloodthirsty little tyrants defied all Ins attempts to
exterminate them, the large extent of rough cotcr and broken ground on the sloping sides of the downs
in which they sought refuge affording them ample protection. On farther inquiry I ascertained that he
was of opinion that the bullet in the stem of the beech tree had been final by a volunteer, after
practising at a range a few miles off towards the north-east, the din-ctiou from which Ihe missile
evidently came. Some of those who occasionally shot there, he declared, were in ihe habit of firing at
Books, Crows, or any large birds that came in view while on their way homewards by the cross-country
roads, utterly n-ganllcss of all consequences.
It is somewhat strange that while this article, composed a year or two ago and forwarded recently to
London, has been in my bauds (returned by the printers for revision), 1 have had a chance of examining a
Little Grebe, an adult in most perfect plumage, obtained by a shot from ihe riile of a volunteer within a
few miles of Brighlon. While passing along ihe banks of a small mill-stream, he noticed the bird rapidly
making its way at the depth of about a foot, and baling discharged his rifle, it rose to Ihe surface quite
helpless and soon lUOOUinbed to the effects of the shot. There were no signs of a wound, and I am of opinion
it must have been the shock, caused by the force wilh which the bullet struck the water, that killed the