Game Birds of South Africa. 21 



(c) FrancoUnus levaiUanti, generally known as the " Hed 



Win.g." 



(ci) FrancoUnus c/ariepensis, known as the " Red Wing." 

 (e) FrancoUnus slieUti/i., also known as the " Red Wing." 

 In these notes I will follow the order in which I have 



mentioned these Partridges above. 



The Coqui Francolin. {FrancoUnus coqui.) 



This species is, I think, the handsomest of the Partridges 

 I know. It is considerably smaller than the other three 

 birds I have mentioned, and looks about the size of a Cape 

 Ring Dove, although, owing to its close plumage, its body 

 is actually larger than that of the Dove mentioned. 



The male can easily be distinguished from the female by 

 the ochre-yellow colour of the sides of its face and neck all 

 round, while the female has a striped appearance on the 

 under part of its body. The call consists of a long note 

 followed by a short note, which I imitate as near as possible 

 as follows : Twee t Twit. 



I first saw this Partridge near the Lomati River, Swaziland, 

 in July 1891, when on a shooting-trip to those parts. My 

 companions called it the " Bush Partridge." I have never 

 found it far away from bush or trees of some sort, but it 

 prefers park-like country and small patches of bush rather 

 than dense forest. 



Where undisturbed the coveys are generally very large. 

 I have frequently seen from thirteen to twenty in a covey 

 near Barberton. I have also found it in the low country 

 between the Crocodile and Sabi Rivers, near Johannesburg 

 to the north and near Krugersdorp, wherever there were 

 patches of mimosa trees, also near Potchefstroom and Rus- 

 tenburg, and in Bechuanaland between Mafeking and 

 Vryburg. 



It is a fast flying and running bird, and very clever in 

 dodging around trees and bushes in its flight. When in a 

 bush it will invariably take flight from the side opposite the 

 sportsman. After being once flushed it is not easily flushed 

 again. It gives the most difficult shots, in my oplnicm, of 



