PAETEIDGE.
PETRISEN. CORIAK, OF THE ANCIENT BRITISH.
COMMON PARTRIDGE.
Perdu* cinerea, LATHAM. JF.NVNS.
Tetran prrdix, LINN.-EUS.
/' rdix—A Partridge. Cinerea—Ash-coloured.
A N acquired taste is a proverbial expression, and, a s such, redolent
of t r u t h . There is too, if I may so say, such a thing as an acquired
scent, and that of a t u r n i p field, as a rendezvous of t h e P a r t r i d g e , is
a good instance of it. It is n o t , ' a p r i o r i , ' p a r t i c u l a r l y agreeable, a nd
yet I think that I shall not be adjudged to be far wrong by some,
at all events, of m y r e a d e r s , in pronouncing it to b e one of a most
e x h i l a r a t i n g and pleasant nature in the months of September or
October.
P a r t r i d g e s are found in most temperate climes, and arc probably
nowhere more numerous than in England. They belong to Europe,
and also it is said to Asia and Africa: in the former they occur
from the south of Siberia, through Russia, to the shores of t he
M e d i t e r r a n e a n ; in Norway they are rare, and only occur in the
e x t r e m e south, which is somewhat remarkable. In Africa, in Barbary
and Egypt.
They are plentiful throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, and
Wales, and a r e sometimes found in very wild situations, where they
would not n a t u r a l l y be looked for.
T h e Rev. G . L o w mentions in t h e ' F a u n a Orcadcnsis,* that in h is
time Partridges were introduced into Waas, one of the Orkney
I s l a n d s , b u t unsuccessfully. More lately t h e experiment has b e e n again
t r i e d by t h e E a r l of O r k n e y , who i n t r o d u c e d them into Ronsay, in