42 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMA^^. 



CHAP. V. 



KED-IEGGED PAETEIDGE. — SIEGE OF ST. PHILIPPE. — CIVIL GROAVL 

 OE AS OLD SP0ETS1IAN-. 



" Tho' tropic birds boast painted plume, 

 Aiid no bright birds our groves illume, 



A sweeter Yoice is theirs ; 

 The red-legg'd partridge too must yield 

 To that of Britain's wood and field, 



Though gayer rest he wears. 

 For bon vivants and sportsmen say 

 Superior far the British grey." — J. P. 



The red-leg partridge is wilder than the grey partridge ; 

 it is found in woods, rocks, and cornfields. They 

 run faster than the common partridge, and very fre- 

 quently change their ground ; it is certainly a much 

 finer bird in plumage than the grey one ; it is harder 

 to kill, and swift in its flight. The male is known by 

 certain small protuberances which appear on each foot. 

 The red -leg (caccalis rubra), called the French partridge, 

 is well known in the eastern counties. The red-leg is not 

 only a distinct species from the common partridge, but 

 belongs to a separate genus. On the continent, besides 

 that of which we are now speaking, a smaller species is 

 found called the rufus-breasted partridge. 



This partridge was introduced into Suffolk, by the late 

 Marquis of Hertford : forty years ago, one of them was 



