TETRAOXID.E. 



SUB-FAMILY I. 



Perdicix.e. 



The Partridyes. 



Gen. Charac. — Margin of the bill entire, and the nostrils protected l)y a naked 

 hard scale ; the tarsi long, naked, covered in front with divided scales, and 

 sometimes armed with spurs or blunt tubercles. 



WP\ s "^^ 



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Fig. 151.— the red-legged partridge. 

 {Perdix rufu.) 



The true Partridges are peculiar to tlie temperate 

 climates of the Old Worlds remaining sedentary in 

 some places, and in others migrating according* t(j 

 the season. Some species frequent cultivated lands, 

 while others are found in forests, where they may 

 occasionally be seen perched on the branches of 

 trees. They search the ground during the early 

 portion of the morning-, and again before the sun 

 disappears, for their food, which consists of grain, 

 bulbous roots, and insects. 



Partridges are^ fortunately for the sportsman, very 

 s 2 



