and she remained on ber nest during the time the work was

about three yards ;
going on, and Is still sitting, though at the funera
‘ ; 9?
at tombstone.—June 21, 1870.

us the Partridge is migratory W at i 3
: to almost desert an estate on which it has been plentiful, and take

sade ¢ istance of
ee 1 there were many persons standing round the grave and

several on the fl

To say that with

i -hange its SO as
s occasionally change its locale, fol
nae ne ; I believe, however, that they merely sojourn there for a time, and

ould be incorret ; but it appears to be certain that it

up its quarters on an adjoining one.
turn to the district in which they were bred. ,
er covers the face of the northern and central parts of Germany with deep snow

of those districts cannot exist. Burrowing beneath the snow is, I
emperature, when it falls below zero, speedily urges the birds to
y still be found. While travelling over the northern

The reverse, however, is the case on the Continent. ‘There,
re
when the rigour of wint
for three months at a time, the Partridges
am aware, occasionally resorted to; but thet
remove further south, where grasses and other plants ma
in winter, I have seen numbers of coveys huddled together for the sake of warmth.

part of Europe
hestnut-coloured livery. By some persons these

Partridges occasionally occur clothed in a very singular c

: i =

are regarded as a distinct species, by others as a cross between a Partridge and a Grouse or the Common
sc Cc w ‘ J

Partridge and the Red-leg: for myself I am confident that they are not due to either cause; at the same

time I must admit that I am unable to throw any light on the subject of these abnormally coloured birds ; in

size they do not differ from the common species and usually both sexes have the horseshoe mark on the

breast; but in many of the fe
times the females of a whole covey are so distinguished.

There is, perhaps, no one of our game birds that gives more pleasure to the sportsman than the Partridge
does, and is still likely to do—the Grouse, which principally inhabit the northern portion of 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,

males from the chalk-districts it is white instead of chestnut-coloured ; some-

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 of August take up their guns on the Ist of September and traverse
the parched lowlands, where numerous great “ bags” are from time to time made on the estates of rich
landed proprietors; but as an enumeration of 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 of a good shot in a single
day; and where ‘driving ” is resorted to, as it frequently is in most of our midland counties, five or six
hundred birds are often counted at the end of a day’s sport.

«The Partridge,” says the Rev. C. A. Johns, “ though decorated with no brilliant colours, which would
tend to thwart it in its habit of concealing itself among vegetation of 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 of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the male bird, the horseshoe on
its breast, is invisible, as it walks or crouches ; and the general tone is that of 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 of danger ; when the
eges are ated he accompanies his mate, and shares in the work of teaching the young to shift for them-
selves. The food of both old and young is to a great extent insects; the young are especially fond of
ee oo ae au of eggs varies from ten ie fifteen or more. The character of the

se ight is familia to oe people. Simultaneously with the startled cry of alarm from the cock
ne ae eae oy at ee fant aa in a body, keeping 3 horizontal,

Pee ie ‘ases to beat its wings, and sails on for a few yards with extended
Wie ee a ae ee my it es sO long escaped the fowler, may consider itself out of

} g » Is tolerably rapid.

“The call of the Partridge is mostly uttered in the e
birds are now proceeding to roost, which they alw
their heads outwards, to be on the watch ag
the most part in the middle of the day, and -

The Plate represents the tw

(Silene inflata).

vening, as soon as the beetles begin to buzz. The
ays do in the open field, the covey forming a circle with
ue their enemies, of whom they have many. They feed for
ary In size according to the abundance of their favourite food.”
0 sexes, of the natural size. The plant is the Bladder Catch-fly or Campion