Grey Partridge 53 



the featJier, without any cross-barring. In the female, (Fig. 5, B) 

 the central buff stripe is somewhat wider, and is joined by cross 

 bars of a similar colour. In October, November and December, one 

 often shoots a bird with the feathers of the wing coverts mixed. 

 The explanation of this, I have referred to already. The Partridge 

 i- at first habited in female feathers, and the full male plumage is 

 only gradually assumed as the year wears out. 



Young birds are easily differentiated from old birds, by which 

 I mean birds that have moulted their primaries at least once. Young 

 birds have the tip of the first primar\- ]M)inted or acuminate — old 



B. 



Fig. 5. 



birds rounded. Housekeepers who are desirous of purchasirig 

 young birds for their table, should bear this point in mind. 



A second and less secure test lies in the colour of the legs ; an 

 old Partridge has blue-grey legs, and a young bird stone or clay- 

 coloured legs. This is a satisfactory test for the first two or three 

 months of the shooting season, but towards the end of December 

 or January, the difference in colour is much less marked, some of 

 the ytnmg birds having legs of a horn or bluish horn colour, hardly 

 distinguishable from those of the old birds. The test of the primary 

 feather is absoluteh' reliable at all seasons. 



W'f.igtits of Partridges. 



An English cock Partridge weighs about 14,1 oz. on the average, 

 and the female about J -ounce less. I have accurately weighed 

 a great number at different seasons in Suffolk, and at different times 

 of the same season, especially with a view to seeing whether they 

 suffered much after a long frost. The heaviest Partridge I have any 

 record of is i6| oz. (16.37 oz) shot on January 24th, 1893, after a 

 long and severe frost. Of ten young cocks shot on the same day, the 

 average was 15.037 oz. (or well over the average), and of three old 



