NATURAL HISTORY 43 



honoured device of simulating a broken 

 wing to draw away the unwelcome in- 

 truder, a stratagem so common in the bird 

 world, they will fearlessly attack such 

 formidable enemies as dogs and crows. 

 A west country parson was recently 

 driving along one of the winding lanes of 

 Devonshire, and came suddenly on a 

 brood of young partridges in the middle 

 of the road. As he pulled up to avoid 

 running over them, one old bird flew 

 straight up at the pony's nose, and per- 

 sisted in furious attacks until the other 

 parent had led the whole brood over the 

 bank into safety, when he quietly flew 

 over the hedge to join them. 



As the corn ripens, the covey spends 

 most of the day among the growing crops, 

 not with a view to any injury of the grain, 

 which they rarely, if ever, meddle with 

 while growing, but finding a plentiful 

 harvest of their own among the wire- 

 worms and other noxious grubs and 

 insects, and the multitude of smaller 

 weeds which flourish among the corn. 



