AMERICAN PARTRIDGE, OR QUAIL. 649 



sage, with a favorable wind leaving Europe for the warm- 

 er parts of Asia at the approach of winter ; and with an 

 auspicious gale again returning in the spring, in such 

 amazing numbers that some of the islands of the Archi- 

 pelago derived their name from their abundant visits. 

 On the west coast of Naples, within the small space of 

 four or five miles, as many as 100,000 have been taken 

 in a day by nets. Our Partridge, though occupying so 

 wide an extent of the Atlantic and Western States, and 

 even penetrating into Mexico, is scarcely ever a bird of 

 passage ; they only assemble in single families, which may 

 sometimes be reduced to four or five by accidents, and 

 at others increased to twenty or thirty. Their instinc- 

 tive sociability continues uniformly, until interrupted in 

 the spring by the desire of pairing ; at this season, the 

 eager call of the male is often heard, but it nearly ceases 

 when he is mated, and is only long continued by those 

 who are dissatisfied, and have been unsuccesssful in their 

 connexions ; and by imitating the reply of the female, 

 the male is easily decoyed to approach towards the enemy 

 who thus allures him. On these occasions when the rival 

 candidates happen to meet, they exhibit, the only time in 

 their lives, a quarrelsome disposition, fighting with obsti- 

 nacy, until the contented victor at last gains the field with 

 his submissive mate. The conjugal selection being now 

 concluded, they are not exceeded by any of the feathered 

 race in their mutual attachment and common affection for 

 their brood. In the vagrant Quail, the want of reciprocal 

 and durable attachment gives rise to a wholly different 

 character in instinctive morality ; a common concubinage 

 prevailing among them, as with our Cow Troopials. In- 

 stead of the mild sociability so prevalent with our Par- 

 tridge, they are pugnacious to a proverb ; '* As quarrel- 

 some as Quails in a cage'' was an ancient reproof to 

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