OXBIRD PARTRIDGES. 211 



among them, and present a shot equally good for your 

 second. But these are no doubt mostly young birds, 

 that have just flown, as the oxbirds are, in general, 

 difficult of access ; and (like most other birds) the 

 larger their flock, the more difficult it is to be ap- 

 proached. 



This is capital sport for a schoolboy. But the mo- 

 ment the tide leaves the mud then is the time to get 

 a punt and catch the oxbirds on the edge. A second 

 barrel is the grand recipe for the slaughter of oxbirds ; 

 because if you happen to " stop" two or three, the rest 

 are almost sure to pitch down with, or near them : and 

 in this case as thick as they can possibly " stow" to- 

 gether. But if you have only a single gun, the moment 

 you raise the barrel, to put the powder in, away they 

 all go ! 



The oxbird belongs to the tribe of sandpipers. Of 

 these, including the ruff (foe female of which is called 

 reeve), there are fifteen sorts : but, as they scarcely 

 afford any particular sport, it will be wasting time to 

 enter into any detail on them, or even to give a trans- 

 lation of their different names. 



PARTRIDGES. Tetrao perdixLa perdrix grise. 

 RED LEGGED. Tetrao ruf us La perdrix rouge. v ^ 



The latter has been of late years brought from the 

 continent, and is now (as I before observed) plentiful 

 on the estates of lords Hertford and Rendlesham in 

 Suffolk. 



The red legged partridges are fond of warm dry soil ; 

 and, from this circumstance, they are, in flavour, rather 

 inferior to the common ones. Although called " French 



