Io ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY 
whole world. Its giant cousin, the Capercailzie (Tetrao uro- 
gallus), ranges from Scandinavia and the Siberian valley of the 
Yenesay to the Altai Mountains, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. 
A great contrast to the arboreal, polygamous, wild Caper- 
eailzie, is that familiar denizen of our home-fields—the Par- 
tridge (Perdiw cinerea), which faithfully pairs with its gentle 
mate for life. For more than a hundred years it has had to 
sustain an unequal contest with the stronger and more pugna- 
cious red-legged kind (P. rufa) of South-western Europe, 
Fig. 6. 

The Californian Quail (Lophortyx californicus). 
which was introduced in 1770, and has obtained a foothold 
in the greater part of our Eastern Counties. That miniature 
Partridge, the Quail (Coturnix communis), easily distinguished 
by its smaller size, very short tail, and pointed wings, is also 
a ground-bird like the Partridge, though it is well capable of 
flight, as is proved by the prodigious multitudes which cross 
the Mediterranean for a winter home in Africa. 
Of Quails there are some twenty kinds, ranging through the 
Old World south of the Arctic regions. Birds nearly allied 
