THE PARTRIDGE. BIRDS. Tar. QT 



403 



the north and south migrate into the more temperate 

 regions at the approach of the cold or hot seasons. 

 Partridges are generally met with about corn-fields, 

 where they feed upon seeds, tender herbage, and 

 insects. They pair early in the spring, and the female 

 deposits from ten to fifteen eggs in a small hollow 

 scratched in the ground and lined with a little straw. 

 The business of incubation, which occupies three 

 weeks, is left entirely to the female, although the male 

 is assiduous in his attendance upon his mate, and 

 endeavours to protect her from any danger. The 

 young when hatched accompany their parents in search 

 of food, and the small parties thus formed, known as 

 coveys by sportsmen, keep together throughout the 

 autumn and winter, if not destroyed by the gun, for 

 the number of partridges annually killed for the table 

 is probably equal, if not superior, to that of the grouse 

 which undergo the same fate, and excites one's aston- 

 ishment that the whole race has not long since become 

 extinct. The parent birds exhibit much courage in 

 defending their young brood from the assaults of their 

 natural enemies. Mr. Selby mentions an instance in 

 which a pair of partridges seized a carrion crow which 

 had probably evinced felonious intentions towards their 

 newly-hatched family, and held the marauder until it 

 was taken from them by the spectator of the combat. 



THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE (Caccabis rubra} 

 Plate 20, fig. 76 also called the GUERNSEY PAR- 

 TRIDGE, is a handsome bird, and rather larger than the 

 Common or Gray Partridge. It is of a brown colour 

 above, pearl-gray on the breast, and fawn colour on the 

 belly ; the throat is white, and surrounded^ by a broad 

 black gorget, below which numerous black streaks and 

 spots descend towards the breast, and the feathers of 

 the flanks are beautifully adorned with transverse bars 

 of pearl gray, white, black, and fawn colour. The bill 

 and legs are bright red. This bird is a native of 

 Southern Europe, and has been introduced into Britain. 

 In its habits it resembles the common species. 



THE COMMON FRANCOLLN (Francolinus vulgaris). 

 In the Francolins, which are closely allied to the true 

 Partridges, the tarsi of the males are armed with one 

 or two spurs. They are peculiar to the Eastern hemi- 

 sphere. The present species, which is widely distri- 

 buted over the south of Europe, Asia, and the north of 

 Africa, is about twelve inches in length, and is of a 

 yellowish-brown colour above, marked and barred with 

 black, and deep black beneath, with numerous oval 

 white spots. Round the lower part of the neck there 

 is a broad collar of chestnut red. This bird lives in 

 numerous companies in the low and marshy districts 

 of the forests, and perches freely upon the branches of 

 trees. Its food consists of seeds and the bulbous roots 

 of plants, which it is able to dig out of the soil. Its flesh, 

 like that of the other Francolins, of which there are 

 many species, is very good. 



THE COMMON QUAIL (Coturnix dactylisonans) is 

 generally distributed in Europe, and, indeed, apparently 

 over the whole of the Old World. In Europe and 

 Africa the Quails are migratory, passing northwards in 

 countless flocks in the spring, and returning to the 

 warmer regions at the approach of winter. This is 

 also the case in Arabia and Asia Minor. It was 



formerly a matter of dispute whether this was the bird 

 referred to in the book of Exodus as furnishing the 

 Israelites with a supply of animal food during their 

 journeying in the wilderness. Now-a-days there seems 

 to be little doubt upon the subject, as no other species 

 of Quail is known to perform a migration, and this 

 bird, as described by the sacred historian, always 

 travels at night. Both M. Temminck and Mr. Yarrell 

 consider the migration of Quails to be rather in search 

 of food than for the sake of uniformity of climate. 



The Quail measures about seven inches in total 

 length. It has the upper parts brown, with the shafts 

 of the feathers paler, and numerous longitudinal darker 

 streaks; the breast is pale chestnut-brown, with the 

 shafts of the feathers yellow ; the throat and belly are 

 nearly white, the former bounded by two narrow semi- 

 circular brown bands, bearing a black patch in the 

 middle. These latter marks are wanting in the female. 

 Quails, although so nearly allied to the Partridge, are, 

 unlike them, polygamous in their habits. The female 

 lays from seven to twelve eggs in a small cavity in the 

 ground lined with a little grass and straw, generally in 

 a corn-field. The cry of the male resembles the 

 syllables piclcerwick, or peek-wheet-wheet. In China 

 the males are kept in captivity for the purpose of 

 fighting, which they do with great courage, and the 

 people are said to stake large sums upon the issue of 

 these contests. A similar practice prevailed to a great 

 extent amongst the ancient Greeks and Eomans, and 

 is said not to have entirely died out among then- 

 descendants. 



THE CHINESE QUAIL (Coturnix Chinensis), a small 

 and elegant species, measuring only four inches in 

 length, which is abundant in many parts of Eastern 

 Asia, is also said to be kept in cages by the Chinese, 

 not only on account of the sport to be derived from its 

 pugnacity, but also for the singular purpose of warm- 

 ing the hands of its owners in winter, the bodies of these 

 birds being supposed to contain an unusual amount of 

 heat. 



THE ANDALUSIAN QUAIL (Hemipodius tachy- 

 dromus), an inhabitant of Southern Europe and 

 Northern Africa, is distinguished from the preceding 

 species by the total absence of the hinder toe. It is a 

 small species, about six inches in length, of a brown 

 colour above, and yellowish-white beneath, with the 

 breast and throat pale chestnut ; the upper surface is 

 variegated with bars and spots of chestnut, black, and 

 yellowish-white. This bird is found in barren spots, 

 and runs with great speed amongst the scanty herbage. 

 It appears to perform at least a partial migration from 

 Africa into Europe ; a single specimen has been killed 

 in this country. It is supposed to be polygamous. 

 Other species nearly allied to this are met with in 

 Africa and India, and no less than eight occur in 

 Australia. 



THE CROWNED PARTRIDGE (Rollulus cristatus) 

 Plate 20, fig. 77 is an example of a singular genus 

 including only three or four species, which has been 

 placed by different naturalists amongst the pheasants, 

 partridges, and pigeons. Its true place appears to be 

 with the partridges, but it is distinguished from all the 

 preceding forms by the absence of the claw upon tho 



