5°2 COMMON PARTRIDGE. 



down to the Rhone delta, as well as on the eastern side of the 

 Adriatic ; but in the south, as a rule, it frequents the higher ground, 

 and yields the plains to the Red-legged Partridge. It occurs on 

 both sides of the Pyrenees up to 4,000 ft, and as far as the valley 

 of the Douro in the Spanish Peninsula, especially in the moister 

 regions to the west ; in Italy it ranges to Naples, and in Central and 

 Eastern Europe it is abundant. It can be traced to Asia Minor 

 and the mountainous districts of Persia, and it also inhabits the 

 south-west of Siberia, a larger and greyer race being found in the 

 Altai Mountains ; while eastward the representative is the smaller 

 P. barbata, the male of which has a golden-buff breast, and a deep 

 black ' horse-shoe ' mark below. 



The Partridge often pairs in February, but eggs are seldom laid 

 until the end of April or the beginning of May. From 12-20 of 

 these are often produced by a single hen ; but as many as t,i have 

 been found in one nest, from 23 of which the young were hatched 

 and went off with the old birds, while 4 of the eggs left behind had 

 live chicks in them. The usual colour of the shell is olive-brown, 

 but pale blue or whitish varieties are not very uncommon : measure- 

 ments 1-45 by 1-15 in. Incubation lasts 21-23 days. The young 

 are attended by both parents with great assiduity, and I have seen 

 the old birds show a bold front to a female Hen-Harrier for several 

 minutes, while covering the retreat of their brood to the shelter of a 

 hedge. The food consists of green leaves, grain, many species of 

 insects, small snails (S:c. Breeding takes place in the first spring, 

 but the old males are very pugnacious and molest the younger birds. 



The adult male may be distinguished from the adult female by 

 the brighter yellowish chestnut on the head and throat, the greyer 

 neck, and the dark brown ' horse-shoe ' mark on the lower breast ; 

 but in many districts young females (of the year) have this mark 

 very fully developed, though old hens have not. At all ages, how- 

 ever, the wing-coverts have buff cross-bars in the female, whereas 

 there is only a longitudinal stripe in the male (Ogilvie Grant). The 

 legs and feet are bluish-white in the adults, but yellowish-brown in 

 the young, which resemble the female in plumage. Average length 

 12-5 ; wmg 6 in. Varieties are common, but they are mostly found 

 in young birds, though in some cases they seem to be connected 

 with the nature of the soil frequented ; Partridges from the clay 

 being often poor in colour, while those from the gravel are very 

 warm m tint. In some parts an increasing tendency to a white 

 ' horse-shoe ' is apparent ; while a black '\orse-shoe ' has been 

 found. 



