UPLAND SHOOTING. 85 



of the sportsman,, will scarcely admit of doubt ; but the experi- 

 ment, in order to secure its success, would require to be made in 

 a quarter of the country less exposed than ours to the ravages 

 of guns, dogs, traps, and the deep snows of winter, that 

 the new tribe might have full time to become completely natu- 

 ralized and well fixed in all their native habits. About the 

 beginning of September, the Quail being now nearly full grown 

 and associated in flocks or coveys of from four or five to thirty, 

 afford considerable sport to the gunner. At this time the notes 

 of the male are most frequent, clear, and loud. His common 

 call consists of two notes, with sometimes an introductory one, 

 and is similar to the sound produced by pronouncing the words 

 Bob White. This call may be easily mistaken by whistling, so 

 as to deceive the bird itself, and bring it near. While uttering 

 this he is usually perched on a rail of the fence, or a low limb 

 of an apple tree, where he will sometimes sit repeating, at 

 short intervals, Bob White, for half an hour at a time. When 

 a covey are assembled in a thicket, or corner of a field, and 

 about to take wing, they make a low, twittering sound, not 

 unlike that of young Chickens ; and when the covey is dis- 

 persed they are called together by a loud and frequently 

 repeated note, peculiarly expressive of tenderness and anxiety. 

 The food of the Partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, and 

 berries of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian Corn are 

 particular favorites. In September and October the Buckwheat 

 fields afford them an abundant supply as well as a secure 

 shelter. They usually roost at night in the middle of a field, 

 on high ground, and from the circumstance of the dung being 

 found in such places in one round heap, it is generally con- 

 jectured that they roost in a circle with their heads outward ; 

 each individual in this position forming a kind of guard to pre- 

 vent surprise. They also continue to lodge for several nights 

 in the same spot. The Partridge, like all the rest of the galli- 

 naceous order, flies with a loud, whirring sound, occasioned 

 by the shortness, concavity, and rapid motion of its wings, and 

 the comparative weight of its body. The steadiness of its 



