NE W BE UNS WICK. 



enough that its perch is no place of security, and takes 

 rapid and prolonged flights to avoid its sharp talons. 



In the late summer and early autumn partridge 

 frequent the low-lying thickets and alder swamps, the 

 females remaining with their broods, while the old cocks 

 live apart in solitude. Later on, as the ground becomes 

 wet and the broods get thinned by the " gunners," they 

 leave the swamps and are found scattered about among 

 the hard woods, where they feed on beech nuts and berries, 

 particularly the tea berry. In dull weather, in the late 

 fall and early spring, a low regular noise is often heard by 

 the hunter, as if a drum was being beaten by a practised 

 hand far off in the bush. This is the cock partridge 

 "drumming." It is a rare thing to see him thus em- 

 ployed, for at the least alarm he ceases ; and, moreover, 

 the sound is very deceptive, and seems to come from a 

 much greater distance than it really does. Nevertheless, 

 I have managed to stalk a cock drumming, and have had 

 the satisfaction of watching his curious manoeuvres. First 

 of all he looks round to see that the coast is clear, and 

 then, puffing out his ruff and cocking his tail, he seems to 

 swell to twice his natural size with importance as he beats 

 tattoo with his wings and sidles along the log which he 

 has chosen for his stage, his audience consisting, as he 

 believes, only of the hen, who is no doubt deeply im- 

 pressed by her lord and master's pantomime. As winter 

 commences, the birds may be seen, either singly or in 

 pairs, along the edges of brooks and springs, where they 

 resort for gravel. Later on, when the snow gets deep, 

 they are rarely seen, as they spend most of their time 

 either on the trees or under the snow. At this season 



