156 THE PARTRIDGE 



shelter of her wings, till they had grown too big 

 to nestle in comfort there ; afterwards, as dark- 

 ness deepened, the covey " jugged " together, 

 forming a ring, with heads turned outwards, 

 that no danger might steal on them unobserved. 



The old birds at all times took the utmost care 

 that other coveys should not trespass on their 

 haunts. Once, when a pair that had nested in 

 a fallow beyond the carpenter's farmhouse ven- 

 tured into the wheat, a desperate fight occurred, 

 and the intruders were routed and driven back 

 to their own domain. The partridges jealously 

 sought to ensure that their provender should 

 not be shared, and also that foes should not be 

 attracted to their neighbourhood. The finches 

 and the yellowhammers, searching for seeds 

 dropped in the grass, were often forced to fly 

 for safety to the trees ; and the skylarks, about 

 to tuck their heads beneath their wings for the 

 night, were likely to be unceremoniously evicted 

 if the " brown birds " chose to roost near by. 

 Fearing none but birds and beasts of prey, the 

 old partridges would, without hesitation, attack 

 a pigeon or even a pheasant that chanced to 

 cross their path. 



Towards noon one day in mid-July, when the 

 dew had dried on the undergrowth and the 

 creatures of field and hedgerow seemed to be at 

 rest after the morning's work, the partridges 



