Grey Partridge 43 



will be cut and harvested, the aftermath fed or kept for seed, and, 

 fiiiall}-, the held will be ploughed early in October. 



i have laid great stress on these " maiden layers," because 

 something like three-quarters of the Partridges of that district 

 will be found on such a held, often travelling a considerable distance 

 to reach it, and returning to their own home after each morning 

 and e\ening feed. Partridges very seldom roost in the winter on a 

 clover "layer," on account of the wet, but generally choose a 

 ploughed field or other bare place. There are only a few of these 

 " la\ers " on the estate, and one can easil}', in an afternoon, ride or 

 walk o\-er them all, and the Partridges on them will represent a 

 ver\- large percentage of the total stock of birds on the estate. 



In March, courtship proper will have begun. In the great 

 majority of cases, the birds will have definitely selected their partners. 

 Here and there, where the males are in excess, constant fights 

 wall take place, often resulting in the older male ousting the younger 

 from the possession of the female, a most undesirable occurrence 

 when it happens, looked at from the breeding point of view. The 

 old males are not only more pugnacious and stronger birds, but the}' 

 are also either infertile or much less fertile than the young male, 

 and the result of the union is likely to be a small laying, a still 

 smaller hatching, and a large percentage of rotten eggs. 



Throughout JMarch, while pairing is going on, fighting is general!}' 

 continuous and severe. These fights are very amusing to watch — 

 the two males, bristling with fur}-; " feathers raised and wattles 

 showing, rush at each other, striking and buffeting with their 

 wings, generalK' jumping a few inches from the ground. So intent 

 are they on their battle, that they pay little or no attention to an 

 observer who is reasonabh' careful. The " round " may last three 

 or four minutes ; the ladv, close bv, picking up a seed here and there 

 and preening herself, is apparently quite unconscious of the furious 

 rivalry she is exciting. The fighters now separate a little distance, 

 and recommence feeding, and peace seems to be declared, till one 

 or other approaches too near the female, when war is instantly 

 declared again. So the battle continues with intervals over a 

 considerable period, possibly a week or more, until one of the two is 

 finall}' vanquished, and the happy pair are left to their honeymoon. 

 I have often watched fights of this kind, and I never could see that 

 the Partridges inflicted any real damage on each other, their principal 

 offensive weapon seemed to be their wings ; their bills they rarely 

 used, and their feet they didn't appear to use at all. 



The fights, no doubt, do have some real meaning and the better 

 fighter wins the prize in the end, but the noise and bluster of the 

 battle is out of all proportion to the harm done. 



The studied inattention of the female is most amusing to watch, 

 and, I conclude, she exercises no choice in the matter at all, beyond 

 promising her hand to the better man. 



By the beginning of April, the pair are in the thick of house- 



