212 Wild Birds and their Haunts 



breast to the tip of his dear little tail. As a family 

 man he is all he could or should be ; he helps to build 

 the nest, and though taking no hand in the laying of 

 the eggs he is an ' interested party ' to the operation. 

 He helps to hatch them, however, and takes good care 

 of his young responsibilities as soon as they emerge 

 from the shell. He continues his fatherly protection 

 till they are all fit to look after themselves. As a 

 sporting bird he sees to it that you find him first, shoot 

 him after, and gather him to finish up with ; not till 

 then is he yours." 



The partridge loves the fruitful fells, 



The plover loves the mountains ; 

 The woodcock haunts the lonely dells, 



The soaring hern the fountains ; 

 Through lofty groves the cushat roves 



The path of man to shun it ; 

 The hazel bush o'erhangs the thrush 



The spreading thorn the linnet. 



II 



From enquiries made on estates in different parts of the 

 country, the writer learns that all is well with partridges, 

 although nearly every correspondent laments the scarcity 

 of nests. However, so far as the keepers are concerned, 

 the birds are breeding under ideal conditions, everything 

 possible having been done to safeguard them. Never 

 have rats and other vermin been so closely killed down, 

 and the crow or magpie nest which has escaped the 

 keeper's keen eye is cleverly concealed indeed. Foxes, 

 too, must wonder at the care bestowed upon them, and 

 never have vixens had an easier task to feed their cubs ; 

 food such as freshly killed rabbits and rooks, has been 

 placed near every earth, the idea being to keep the vixen 

 owning it from hunting and interfering with sitting birds. 



Foxes are very deadly among partridge broods when 

 the latter first hatch and run, as the chicks trailing along 

 after the two parent birds leave a very strongly scented 

 trail, and once a fox strikes it he has no difficulty in 



