42 VARIETIES OF SHOOTING. 



dark green, iridescently shaded with purple and copper 

 colour; primaries black, the first three or four being tipped 

 with white; upper tail coverts reddish chesnut; roots of the 

 tail feathers white, ends black; chin, throat, and upper part 

 of the breast rich black: rest of the under parts white, 

 except the under tail coverts, which are fawn coloured; legs 

 and toes dull orange brown; claws black. In winter, the 

 chin and throat are white; young birds have the feathers of 

 the upper part of the body edged with buff. Length a little 

 over twelve inches. The nest is made on the ground with 

 the aid of a few bents of grass, and in this the female lays 

 about four eggs; these are nob quite two inches long, by one 

 inch and a third in breadth, olive coloured, blotched and 

 spotted all over with blackish brown. The young soon 

 follow the parent birds, who watch them most sedulously, 

 and adopt all kinds of stratagems to lead astray any person 

 suspected of molesting them. They feed on slugs, earth- 

 worms, and insects. In autumn they collect in flocks, and 

 from that time throughout the winter they are excellent for 

 the table, but are too wary to be readily shot. But when 

 partridges are scarce, they afford good sport in stalking 

 them. 



There are occasionally other birds suited to the table met 

 with on our partridge grounds; but include all those which 

 may be sought for with a chance of sport. 



OUR PARTRIDGE MANORS. 



The partridge land of England includes nearly all that 

 cultivated by the plough ; but of this a considerable part is 

 not naturally suited to the habits of these birds, who prefer 

 a dry sandy soil, not too level, but undulating enough to 

 keep their nests dry in all weathers. The turnip and barley 

 lands of which Norfolk and Suffolk are almost entirely com- 

 posed, render these counties the chosen ones of partridge 

 preservers, and here the sport of shooting them is followed 

 with as much zest as grouse shooting in Scotland. In cold 

 clays, where turnips until lately were never met with, and 

 are still somewhat rare, partridges will breed in dry seasons, 

 provided they are not too dry ; but here there is generally 

 no lying for them in the shooting season, and they soon 







