Northern Observations of Inland Birds 159 



of keeping in touch with their neighbours, though we 

 know of comparatively few. 



The courtship of the partridge is considered ideal 

 among wild birds, and can be witnessed by any observer 

 amidst suitable conditions in the month of February. 

 The newly-mated birds may be seen sitting close together, 

 often so close that their shoulders are touching, and at 

 intervals one will rub its head caressingly against the 

 other. The cock bird feeds the hen and pets her, and 

 very often she assumes a pettish, indifferent air which is 

 very amusing to watch. 



It is, of course, well known that the hen bird hides 

 her eggs with grass or leaves when she leaves the nest 

 until the surrounding herbage is sufficiently grown to 

 render this precaution no longer necessary, and, therefore, 

 when searching for a suspected nest one needs to exercise 

 much caution as to where one puts one's feet, as the nest 

 with its contents exactly resembles the surrounding 

 ground. It is a good plan, indeed, to keep right away 

 from the place at which birds are thought to be nesting, 

 as calamity of some kind invariably follows human 

 interference. 



The cock bird assists in incubating the eggs, as I have 

 recognized him by his distinct '' horse-shoe," but he 

 does not sit so closely as the hen bird. Charles St. John 

 gives an illustration of the fidelity of the partridge mother : 

 One day his retriever Hfted a hen bird from her eggs 

 and carried her gently to its master's feet. It is a generous 

 provision of nature, however, that the brooding mothers 

 of the wild, those at any rate that nest on the ground, 

 give very little scent during this vital period of their Hves. 



The parent partridges are both devoted to their young, 

 and considering the many enemies that these birds have, 

 it is rather remarkable that they hold their own so well. 

 The eggs are much sought after by ground hunting 



