THE COMMON PARTRIDGE 223 
by a pack of hounds, they lie close at first, as if terrified by the noise 
and bent on concealing themselves ; but when the pack actually 
comes on them they rise to a great height, and fly to a distance 
-which may be measured by miles—at least, so he supposes, as he 
has watched them diminish and fade from the sight before they 
showed any sign of preparing to alight. 
The Partridge, though decorated with no brilliant colours, which 
would tend to thwart it in its habit of concealing itself among vegeta- 
tion of the same general hue as itself, is a beautiful bird. Its gait is 
graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised ; and its plum- 
age, though devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pencilled, 
each feather on the back and breast being veined like the gauzy 
wings of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the 
male bird, the horseshoe on its breast, is invisible as it walks or 
crouches, and the general tone approaches that of the soil. 
Partridges pair early in the year ; but the hen does not begin to 
lay until May, nor to sit until towards the beginning of June. The 
nest is merely a depression in the ground, into which a few straws 
or dead leaves have been drawn. It is sometimes placed among 
brushwood under a hedge, but more frequently in the border of a 
field of hay, clover, or corn, or in the wide field itself. The mowing 
season, unfortunately, is not noted in the calendar of Nature ; so 
the mother-bird, who is a close sitter, is not unfrequently destroyed 
by the scythe, or, at all events, is driven away, and returns to find 
her eggs carried off to be entrusted to the care of a domestic hen. 
In unusually wet seasons, nests which have been fixed in low 
situations are flooded, and the eggs being thus reduced to a low 
temperature become addle. When this has taken place, the 
Partridge makes a second laying, and a late brood is reared. 
Notwithstanding this, however, Partridges are exceedingly pro- 
lific, and are said to be increasing in numbers in proportion as new 
lands are reclaimed from the waste, although the Red-legged Part- 
ridge has lessened its numbers in some districts. It must certainly 
be admitted that, in bad seasons, they are treated with a considera- 
tion that would scarcely be shown towards them if they were simply 
destroyers of grain and had nothing to recommend them as objects 
of sport or as delicacies for the table. When abundant, they fall 
freely before the sportsman’s gun ; but when the coveys are either 
small or few, they are treated with forbearance, and enough are left 
to stock the preserves for the ensuing year. 
While the hen is sitting, the male bird remains somewhere in the 
neighbourhood, and gives timely warning of the approach of danger ; 
when the eggs are hatched, he accompanies his mate, and shares in 
the work of teaching the young to shift for themselves—a lesson 
which they begin to learn at once. The food both of old and young 
birds is, to a great extent, insects. The young are especially fond 
of ants and their pupe or larve. During the year 1860, in which 
