PERDIX. 451 
Genus PERDIX. 
The genus Perdix was established by Brisson in 1760 in his ‘ Ornitho- 
logia’ (i. p. 219), and is one of the genera which are additional to those 
of Linneus. The Common Partridge (the Tetrao perdix of Linnzus) is 
of necessity the type. 
The Partridges are distinguished from the Pheasants by their short tails, 
from the Grouse by their bare tarsi, and from the Quails by their larger 
size and shorter first primary. The males of many of them are distin- 
guished by having a spur on the tarsus*; but in some species this is only 
represented by a blunt tubercle, and in others it is absent altogether. 
The number of tail-feathers varies from twelve to eighteen. The nostrils 
are bare of feathers, protected by a hard scale, and the tarsus is scutellated 
in front, but reticulated behind. 
This group of birds contains from a hundred to a hundred and fifty species, 
distributed throughout the world, except in the Arctic Region, the southern 
portion of the Nearctic Region, and the Australian Region. There are 
about fifty species in the New World, which have been placed in a separate 
subfamily, Ortygine, the birds in which are characterized by the bidenta- 
tion of both sides of the lower mandible. About forty species belong to 
the Ethiopian Region, and about thirty to the Oriental Region. These 
tropical Partridges have been subdivided into a great number of small 
genera, founded upon very trivial characters ; but it is not known that 
they differ in any important respect from the Partridges found in the 
Palearctic Region. About half a dozen species are found in the Palearctic 
Region ; but one or two others occasionally stray within its limits from the 
Oriental Region. Three or four are European, two of which are residents 
in our islands ; but one of them is known to have been introduced. 
The birds in the present genus principally frequent open country, culti- 
vated fields, jungles, grassy hill-sides, and the open ground in wooded 
districts. They are ground-birds, walking and running with great ease. 
Their notes are harsh, and their flight is rapid. Their food consists of 
grain, fruit, insects, &c. They rarely perch in trees. They make a very 
slight nest on the ground, often under a bush; and their eggs are nume- 
rous, white or buff in colour, sometimes spotted with brown. 
* Naumann, Gray, and Macgillivray agree in describing the rudiments of a spur on the 
tarsus of the male Red-legged Partridge, but state that the Common Partridge is without 
this appendage. Dresser, on the other hand, says that the male Common Partridge has 
usually a nob behind, and that the Red-legged Partridge is without any spur on the tarsus. 
It is needless to say which is correct. 
262 
