THE TRUE PARTRIDGES. 147 



tions. One Scotch keeper in particular, at a place where we 

 have enjoyed many a pleasant day's Partridg.:-shooting, rises 

 before our mind, and the remembrance of this excellent and 

 extremely obstinate soul always makes us smile. Often at 

 lunch-time have we started him on the Partridge question, 

 merely for the fun of hearing him argue, and slick to his 

 opinion and that of his forefathers ; and his politely incredulous 

 smile on being shown by the help of a knife that some parti- 

 cular bird with a large horse-shoe mark really was a female by 

 dissection, had to be seen to be appreciated. But there are 

 some people who will never allow that they are mistaken, and 

 as long as this good man remains, we may safely look forward 

 lo many a half-hour's amusement, though the dissection of 

 numerous Partridges does not meet with our host's entire 

 approval ! It must be added that barren females are some- 

 times met with in more or less perfect male plumage. One 

 barren female (by dissection), in the National Collection, has 

 an enormous chestnut horse-shoe mark on the breast, while the 

 wing-coverts have one web of each feather like that of the 

 male, and the other barred as in the ordinary female. This, 

 and one other example, are the only two that have come 

 under our notice, though we have examined thousands of 

 birds, and we may safely conclude that they are by no means 

 common. 



Varieties. — A curious rufous variety of the Common Partridge 

 (Plate XII.) was first described under the name of Perdix vion- 

 tana by Brisson,* who believed it to represent a distinct species. 

 This is not, however, the case, as every intermediate phase of 

 plumage between the Common Partridge and the most extreme 

 chestnut form can be found. The finest examples of this 

 variety have the whole head and neck dull rust-red and the re- 

 mainder of the plumage dark chest?i7it, except the thighs and 

 lower part of the belly, which are whitish, as well as some bars 

 and markings on the wing-coverts and scapulars. Brisson's 

 * Orn. i, p. 224, pi. xxi. fig. 2 (1760). 



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