EUROPEAN PARTRIDGE 6 



On the other hand the birds have prospered and spread in the 

 eastern part of the State, of which he writes : 



Eastern Washington, on the contrary, is a section quite devoid of forests ex- 

 cept along many of its streams and some of the more rugged parts, and even 

 then this growth lacks the luxuriance of that of the west side ; in fact, being 

 scanty by comparison. And many parts of eastern Washington are more or 

 less elevated and open, wide-sweeping plateaus rolling in turn to the water- 

 courses. 



In Oregon the story is much the same. William L. Finley writes 

 to me: 



During the years 1913-14 we liberated 1,522 of these birds in various coun- 

 ties throughout the State. In the Willamette Valley and places in southern 

 Oregon the climate is mild, and the country is varied with patches of timber, 

 fields, and gardens, which from all reports is very similar to the European 

 home of these birds. In the eastern part of Oregon where the partridges were 

 liberated the altitude is a little higher ; it is colder in wiuter ; the hills are 

 covered with broad grain fields with quite a lot of wild sagebrush country sur- 

 rounding, also more or less trees and brush in the canyons. It came rather 

 as a surprise to find that the partridges did not increase and thrive in the 

 Williamette Valley and southern Oregon, but they multiplied quite rapidly 

 all through the northeastern part of Oregon, and especially in the southeastern 

 part of Washington, where quite a number of these birds were imported and 

 released. 



According to Charles J. Spiker (1929) Hungarian partridges have 

 been introduced successfully in northern Iowa, where they have 

 spread into six counties, as well as three counties in southern Minne- 

 sota. He says of this bird: 



There is no more charming bird on the Iowa landscape than the Hungarian 

 Partridge, nor one which better deserves protection at the hands of those 

 who have brought it from its native haunts to become acclimated and ad- 

 justed to new environments. While it is not highly colored, like the Ring- 

 necked Pheasant, yet it is a beautiful bird and merits a great deal of en- 

 thusiasm from an aesthetic point of view as well as the more mercenary point 

 of view of the sportsman. In size it is somewhat larger than the Bob-white, 

 and has some of the characteristics of this species. Seen as it flies directly 

 away from the observer, especially as it first takes off from the ground or 

 spreads its tail in alighting, it presents its very distinguishing field mark. This 

 is the rich russet of the tail feathers, visible only in flight, and concealed by 

 the upper coverts when at rest, but greatly resembling the sheen of that of 

 the Red-tailed Hawk. If one be so fortunate as to behold the bird on a bank 

 about on a level with his eyes or slightly above him, as it has upon two or 

 three occasions occurred with me, he will note the black crescent just below 

 the breast, practically in the middle of the belly, but so located that the bird 

 must be in just the exact position for this mark to show itself. 



Courtship. — The Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain has sent me the follow- 

 ing quotation from F. Menteith Ogilvie : 



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 



