103 EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



(ireeee, amongst others — Partridges are kept for 

 this special purpose of fighting for the delectation 

 of their owners, and though I am not aware of 

 this little sportsman, the Sand Partridge, having 

 been kept for this purpose, I am sure if it was 

 it would not disgrace the traditions of its family, 

 for a more pugnacious little bird than it never 

 walked. The males have a peculiar habit of 

 standing ever and anon quite upright puffing out 

 all their breast feathers, so that they display all 

 the beauty of their rich chestnut and black-barred 

 plumage. The naturalists have discovered that in 

 certain districts the birds all have a white spot 

 over the beak on the forehead, and to this variety is 

 given the name of Cholmondely's Sand Partridge, 

 whilst the other type, with only one white spot 

 behind the eye on the cheeks, is known as Hey's 

 Sand Partridge. Here, as in the case of most 

 birds, the description of the plumage is taken 

 from the male bird, the female nearly always being 

 very much more sober coloured. This cannot too 

 often be repeated, as not recognizing this fact 

 often leads to mistake ; and again, in the matter of 

 the measurements of the birds, the size given is 

 that of the average bird, for in almost all birds you 

 get larger or smaller individuals, and that veteran 



