176 Order XI 



berries, leaves, snails, insects and their larvae, so that 

 from an economic point of view the Pheasant is as 

 beneficial to the farmer as it is important to those 

 who provide our food supplies. The same may be 

 said of that even commoner game-bird the Partridge 

 (Perdix perdix), which is native, except where it has 

 been introduced in the northern islands. It pairs 

 very early, and any low cover, thick or scanty, serves 

 to hold the flimsy nest, the eggs being much smaller 

 and lighter in colour than those of the Pheasant, and 

 often more in number. The coveys, which "pack" 

 into larger companies towards autumn, the voice, the 

 flight, and the methods of shooting the bird call for 

 no special notice here. The food resembles that of 

 the Pheasant. Rare in Scandinavia, the Partridge is 

 plentiful thence to central and eastern Europe, the 

 Tian Shan and Altai Mountains, while it occurs down to 

 north Spain and mid-Italy. All are familiar with its 

 coloration, but the sexes are troublesome to determine 

 unless adult; a safe guide, however, is to be found in 

 the wing-coverts, which have buff cross-bars in the 

 female and longitudinal stripes in the male. 



The Red-legged or "French" Partridge (Caccabis 

 rufa) is now well established in eastern and southern 

 England, but does not seem inclined to spread to the 

 north, west, or even south-west. It was acclimatized 

 in our country about 1770, and is found in France, 

 Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, the Atlantic 

 and Balearic Islands, Elba, Corsica, and north-west 

 Italy. It will be wise, however, not to fix any precise 

 limits, as the African Barbary Partridge (C. petrosa) 

 and the more eastern C. saxatilis no doubt overlap 

 the range of the Red-legged Partridge in places. The 



