THE PARTRIDGES, 199 
support, stretch forward their neck, and striking out 
their legs with great vigor, proceed rapidly toward 
the shore; on approaching which, should they find 
it too steep for landing, they cease their exertions for 
a few moments, float down the stream until they 
come to an accessible part, and by a violent effort 
generally extricate themselves from the water.” 
The plumage of the old males is very beautiful, 
being almost wholly of a rich golden bronze, while 
that part of the neck and head, which are mostly 
bare of feathers, and the loose skin of the throat, 
commonly called the wattle, are of different shades 
of blue, purple, and red. They lose most of these 
bright tints upon being domesticated, and after the 
second year can scarcely be distinguished from the 
common breeds. 
The Partridge family, to which we next invite 
attention, has recently been increased in number by 
the addition of several very interesting and beautiful 
species. When Alexander Wilson wrote his Orni- 
thology, his knowledge of this group was apparently 
confined to the one species which he describes, 
At a later date, when Audubon was instituting 
his inquiries among the birds of our Western Ter- 
ritories, he added three more, and still more re- 
cently three or four additional varieties have been 
discovered in the newly acquired territory of Cali- 
fornia and New Mexico. The plumage of all the 
Species is plain, and the tints mostly sombre, but of 
such exquisite blendings as give them a high rank 
for beauty among the Birds of America. 
