BIRDS IN THE CALENDAR 



Whether or not France is to be regarded as 

 the original home of the " red leg," the fact 

 remains that in that country it is becoming 

 scarcer every year, its numbers being main- 

 -tained only in Brittany, Calvados, Orne, and 

 Sarthe. Its distribution in Italy is equally 

 capricious, for it is virtually restricted to 

 the rocky slopes of the Apennines, the Vol- 

 terrano Hills in Tuscany, and the coast ranges 

 of Elba. It seems therefore that in Continental 

 countries, as well as with us, the bird extends 

 its range reluctantly. Game -preservers seem, 

 however, to agree that partridges and pheas- 

 ants are, beyond a certain point, incompatible 

 as, with a limited supply of natural food, the 

 smaller bird goes to the wall. Like most 

 birds, partridges grow bold when pressed by 

 cold and hunger, and I recollect hearing of a 

 large covey being encountered ten or twelve 

 years ago in an open space in the heart of 

 the city of Frankfort. 



110 



