TOWERING OF A PARTRIDGE. 



103 



TOWEEING OF A PAETRIDGE. 



loWERIKG is the last movement in the death strug- 

 i gle of a wounded Partridge when hit in the head. 

 ^^^ rjij^g towering of a Partridge is curious, beautiful, and 

 ^ interesting to behold, and is indeed a very singular 

 phenomenon. It frequently occurs in this way : The Par- 

 tridge after being hit flies off in a straight line some dis- 

 tance, and then, by a peculiar flutter of the wings, rises up 

 into the air in a straight line with its head pointed up- 

 wards, when, being dead, it falls with closed wings to the 

 ground. Towering is the last effort of a Partridge mor- 

 tally wounded in this manner, gasping for life, after which 

 it falls, with closed wings, to the ground dead as a rock. 

 I have hit Partridges with one pellet of shot in the eyes, 

 and blinded them. I have seen them rise into the air and 

 hover, and twist, and soar to a great height and then fall 

 to the ground, very often head foremost, always with wings 

 extended. In the same manner I have seen Partridges rise 

 into the air, and hover and twist, to great height, when hit 

 by a shot in the beak, which carried it off close to the head. 

 I have often seen Partridges hit in this way fall to the 

 ground, get up and fly away again. This is not towering 

 strictly speaking. When a Partridge towers it falls to the 

 ground with wings closed, perfectly dead, and you will gen- 

 erally find it lying on its back. When a Partridge is hit 

 in the eyes or beak, and comes down with wings extended, 

 it has not fallen dead. This is mock towering of a wounded 

 Partridge, and a sportsman who has once witnessed the fall 

 of a towering Partridge will know the difference. I have 

 often hit Partridges with one pellet of shot in the eyes, 

 sometimes partially, often entirely blinding them; they 

 would fly around and around in a circle, apparently in great 



