22 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PARTRIDGE 



grows plump and well favoured during his sojourn on 

 the stubble, though the ringdove eats much of the 

 food which should go to support its more welcome 

 neighbour. But important as the dietary of the 

 partridge must be admitted to be, the bird is no 

 voluptuary, but contrives to make a shift, if occasion 

 arise, without suffering any apparent ills from its mis- 

 fortunes. It is too spirited a bird to be easily cowed, as 

 we might guess from its self-consciousness and pride of 

 carriage. Indeed birds of both sexes delight to preen 

 their plumage no less than other species in which a 

 striking pattern of colours is apparent. A strong de- 

 sire of cleanliness characterises most birds. It is all 

 against their will that they shelter thousands of para- 

 sites in their downy covering. Either they seek to 

 rid themselves from their tiny tormentors by frequent 

 ablutions, or they cleanse their feathers by dust baths, 

 which appear to answer much the same purpose as 

 actual immersion in water. During the summer 

 months, partridges betake themselves to their feeding 

 grounds at daybreak, and occupy themselves in forag- 

 ing for food until about 10 a.m., by which time they 

 have usually contrived to satisfy the demands of their 

 appetites. This important condition of things having 

 once been arrived at, the birds seek out some open spot 

 where they can bask in the warm sunshine to their 



