PARTRIDGE. 288 



made the experiment, informs me, that of several hen's eggs which he 

 substituted in place of those of the Partridge, she brought out the 

 ■whole ; and that for several weeks he occasionally surprised her in 

 various parts of the plantation, with her brood of chickens ; on which 

 occasions she exhibited all that distressful alarm, and practised her 

 usual manoeuvres for their preservation. Even after they were con- 

 siderably grown, and larger than the Partridge herself, she continued 

 to lead them about ; but though their notes, or call, were tliosc of com- 

 mon chickens, their manners had all the shyness, timidity and alarm of 

 young Partridges ; running with great rapidity, and squatting in the 

 grass exactly in the manner of the Partridge. Soon after this they 

 disappeared, having probably been destroyed by dogs, by the gun, or 

 by birds of prey. Whether the domestic fowl might not by this method 

 be very soon brought back to its original savage state, and thereby 

 supply another additional subject for the amusement of the sportsman, 

 will scarcely admit of a doubt. But the experiment, in order to secure 

 its success, would require to be made in a quarter of the country less 

 exposed than ours to the ravages of guns, traps, dogs, and the deep 

 snows of winter, that the new tribe might have full time to become com- 

 pletely naturalized, and well fixed in all their native habits. 



About the beginning of September, the Quails being now nearly full 

 grown, and associated in flocks, or coveys, of from four or five to thirty, 

 afford considerable sport to the gunner. At this time the notes of the 

 male are most frequent, clear and loud. His common call consists of 

 two notes, with sometimes an introductory one, and is similar to the 

 sound produced by pronouncing the words "Bob White." This call 

 may be easily imitated by whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, and 

 bring it near. While uttering this he is usually perched on a rail of the 

 fence, or on a low limb of an apple-tree, where he will sometimes sit, 

 repeating at short intervals "Bob White," for half an hour at a time. 

 When a covey are assembled in a thicket or corner of a field, and 

 about to take wing, they make a low twittering sound, not unlike that 

 of young chickens ; and when the covey is dispersed, they are called 

 together again by a loud and frequently repeated note, peculiarly ex- 

 pressive of tenderness and anxiety. 



The food of the Partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, and berries 

 of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian corn are particular favorites. 

 In September and October the buckwheat fields afibrd them an abundant 

 supply, as well as a secure shelter. They usually roost at night in the 

 middle of a field on high ground ; and from the circumstance of their 

 dung being often found in such places, in one round heap, it is gene- 

 rally conjectured that they roost in a circle, with their heads outwards, 

 each individual in this position forming a kind of guard to prevent 



