AN ARCADIAN CALENDAR 



THE cock partridge is supposed to be distinguished from 

 the hen by a brighter " horseshoe " of 

 Partridge chocolate on the breast ; but hens may sport 

 Feathers this badge. The expert distinguishes the 

 sexes by differences in the wing-covers, a 

 chestnut touch on the cock's feathers, and cross-bars 

 of buff on the hen's, lacking in her mate's plumage. 

 Now and then white horseshoe badges are seen, and 

 black ones are worn by the species from Asia (the 

 bearded partridge), which comes in ice to our markets. 

 Then we have a " mountain partridge," a plain bird in 

 red and buff. Birds of the year are easily distinguished 

 by the badge of their yellow legs. 



SPORTSMEN usually held that when a covey of part- 

 ridges rises, the admirable cock parent goes 

 The first: and is likely to fall first. When the 



Admirable covey goes to " jug " in some dry hollow in 

 Partridge mid-field the cock keeps sentinel with 

 never-failing vigilance. The birds may be 

 in a wide circle, each apart from its neighbour, but in 

 cold weather twenty will huddle on a spot a yard in 

 diameter, those on the edge breast outwards. When 

 there is an alarm, clear above the loud, sudden whirr of 

 all wings is heard the parent cock's directing call. 



THE French partridge is curiously limited in its range, 



favouring south-eastern England, and 



Foreign haunting waste places scorned by our 



Partridges brown birds. The way it prefers running to 



flying has forfeited some respect, and the 



gourmet says it lacks the flavour of the common 



partridge. Like other foreign red-legs, it is distinguished 



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