THE PARTRIDGES 61 



this experiment in acclimatisation brought with it a speedy repent- 

 ance, owing to the adverse effect it produced on the dogs. So great, 

 indeed, was the dislike finally provoked by the newcomer, that its 

 eggs were destroyed as they were found, or on some estates were used 

 for table purposes. Nevertheless these measures did not succeed in 

 exterminating what was then regarded as a pest. A further charge 

 levied against these aliens was that of pugnacity, a widespread 

 belief having gained ground to the effect that the males drove away 

 the native, grey, or English bird, which from every point of view 

 would have been a deplorable event. Time, however, has reinstated 

 the redlegged species. The old methods of shooting over dogs have 

 now given place to " driving," and this ultimately forces the laggards 

 to fly, and furthermore inflicts a heavier toll on their numbers than in 

 the case of the English bird. And closer observation has shown that, 

 so far from the larger redlegged species driving out its neighbour, the 

 reverse is the case, for the English partridge is decidedly the more 

 pugnacious species. 



The French partridge will often perch on fences, the low bough 

 of a tree, or even on a barn or wall. The English partridge is 

 commonly believed never to adopt such resorts; but according 

 to Yarrell it will perch on the limb of some large tree if the 

 ground be covered in deep snow. The French partridge, again, 

 has been known to nest on haystacks, cornstacks, and even in a 

 tree, and Mr. W. Farren tells me he has known cases of nests placed 

 far down in rabbit burrows ; but such vagaries seem rarely to be 

 committed by the English partridge, though a case is recorded in 

 Daniel's Rural Sports of a nest of sixteen eggs on the top of an oak 

 pollard, which were successfully hatched out. The English partridge 

 will bathe occasionally, and both species are exceedingly fond of 

 " dust "-baths. The English species shows a preference for some 

 sandy knoll screened from observation by bracken ; here they "busk " 

 to their heart's content, having spent the early hours of the day, from 

 dawn till about 10 A.M., in feeding. That the French species displays 



