40 PARTRIDGES 



(A 



earlier than eastern, and northern a 

 week or so later. 



For the first fortnight of their life, the 

 dozen chicks which may constitute the 

 covey have but a slender hold on existence. 

 A sudden thunderstorm, or a succession 

 of those chill and sunless days and 

 dropping skies which the doleful experi- 

 ences of recent years almost lead one to 

 expect as the normal accompaniment of 

 an English midsummer, means a sad tale 

 of infantile mortality among the rising 

 generation of partridges. 



As soon as the chicks have dried after 

 quitting the egg, the hen, with the cock 

 in close attendance, leads them away to 

 the nearest patch of cover. Apart from 

 the dangers of inclement weather, and the 

 ever-present dread of attack by some 

 marauder, furred or feathered, their welfare 

 is now influenced chiefly by the available 

 supply of insect life, on which they depend 

 entirely for their food till they are at least 

 a month old. 



Thus all extremes of weather at hatch- 



