COMMON PARTRIDGE. 



the Goshawk ; nor can it be said to flourish in any part of Sweden 

 It is found in Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and in France 

 down to Savoy ; but further south it frequents the higher ground, 

 yielding the plains to the Red-legged Partridge. It occurs on both 

 sides of the Pyrenees 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. We trace it to Asia Minor and the moun- 

 tainous districts of Persia, and it also inhabits the south-west of 

 Siberia, a larger and greyer race being found in the Altai Moun- 

 tains ; while eastward the representative is the smaller F. 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, 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 : average 

 measurements 1*45 by i"i5 in. Incubation lasts twenty-one days, 

 and the young are attended by both parents with great assiduity ; 

 I have seen the old birds show a bold front to a 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 &c. Breeding takes place in 

 the first spring, but old males are very pugnacious and molest the 

 younger birds, besides taking excellent care of themselves in 

 autumn ; the practice of ' driving ' has, however, diminished the 

 number of the cocks, and has thus proved beneficial to the general 

 increase of the stock. 



The adult male may be distinguished from the 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. 

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

 brown in the young, which resemble the female in plumage. 

 Average length i2"5 ; wing 6 in. Varieties are very common, but 

 they are mostly found in young birds ; in some cases, however, 

 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 in tint in any case. In some parts 

 an increasing tendency to a ic/iife horse-shoe is apparent. 



