304 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



most pleasant quarters of the British soldier. We 

 have heard in our own county and elsewhere of 

 hybrids between the Grey Partridge and the Red- 

 legged Caccabis rufa ; but the only one of these 

 supposed hybrids which we ever personally examined 

 proved to be a specimen of the so-called Grey 

 Partridge of India, Francolinus ponticerianus, and 

 we have yet to be convinced that our Partridge ever 

 contracts alliances out of his own kindred. 



123. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 



Caccabis rufa. 



The earliest occurrence of this species in North 

 Northamptonshire with which we are acquainted is 

 that of a specimen killed by the late Rev. George 

 Stopford near Bulwick : we have no exact record of 

 the date, but remember seeing the bird at Bulwick 

 Hall, stuifed and mounted, on the occasion of our 

 first visit to that house, now more than fifty years 

 ago. The first Red-legged Partridges that we ever 

 saw in a wild state in the district of which \ve are 

 treating in these notes were on a rough fallow in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of Elton, Hunts, about 

 the year 1850. We found that their existence there 

 was well known to Lord Carysfort's gamekeeper, 

 who accompanied us on this occasion, and informed 

 us that he had known of a covey or two on the 

 manor annually for many years before the date above 

 given. About the year 1860 we killed one or two 

 on our own shootings at Lilford, and heard of several 

 occurrences of the species in our neighbourhood ; 

 and since that date the "Frenchman," as the bird 



