A FEATHERED SPRINTER 91 



along the ground and the close manner in which it lies 

 up. According to Mr. Lockwood Kipling, the grey 

 partridge, as it runs, " suggests a graceful girl tripping 

 along with a full skirt well held up." In a sense the 

 simile is a good one, for the lower plumage of the 

 partridge is curiously " full," and so does make the bird 

 look as though it were holding up its skirts. But until 

 graceful young ladies are able to gather up their ample 

 skirts and sprint the " hundred " two or three yards in- 

 side " level time," it will be inaccurate to compare the 

 tripping gait of the one to the speedy motion of the 

 other. The grey partridge is a winged sprinter, a 

 feathered Camilla. It can for a short distance hold its 

 own comfortably against a galloping horse. Frequently 

 have I come upon a covey, feeding in the open and 

 giving vent to the familiar call, and have immediately 

 proceeded to stalk it in the hopes of obtaining a couple 

 of good shots. Before getting within range, one of the 

 birds invariably " spots " me and gives the alarm. The 

 calling immediately ceases and the partridges walk 

 briskly to cover. The instant they disappear I dash 

 towards the cover, hoping to surprise and flush them, 

 but they run three yards to my two, and by the time I 

 reach the bushes into which they betook themselves 

 they are laughing at me from afar. 



Then the way in which a partridge will sometimes lie 

 up in comparatively thin cover is remarkable. One 

 day, when shooting snipe at sunrise, I surprised a 

 partridge feeding in a field. I fired, but apparently did 

 not hit the bird, for it disappeared into a clump of palm 

 trees and prickly pear. Taking up a position close to 



