144 NATURAL HISTORY. 



fly when eight days old, at which age they are about as large as a Lark. The parent bird tends them 

 with the greatest care, and when surprised with them will not desert them, but may often be 

 approached near enough to be knocked down with a stick. When about four weeks old the young 

 are as large as a Plover, and are then considered old enough to be shot. They lie very close, and 

 scatter after being flushed, and are then easily procured with the aid of a good dog. In August they 

 grow very quickly, and by the end of the month they are full grown. It appears that when small they 

 not unfrequently lose their parents, but are then taken care of by others ; and often as many as 

 thirty individuals of various ages are found in one covey. Until late in September, the coveys remain 

 in the localities where they have bred, and can be approached but later than that, they pack and 

 resoi't to the mountains, and gradually get into regions where the true growth ceases. They are then 

 unapproachable, and a quick shot only can get an odd bird out of a pack of about five hundred. Mr. 

 Earth speaks of a pack of about three thousand individuals which he saw between the 3rd and 10th 

 of November. Curiously enough they are sometimes much less shy than at others ; and Mr. Earth 

 cannot account for this, except that the weather may to some extent be the cause. He remarks that 

 during the winter they not unfrequently feed at night, and from the middle of March to the middle 

 of April they are to be found in the morning and afternoon in the tops of the birches feeding on the 

 buds. About the middle of March they pair, and commence to drum when in packs of several hundred 

 individuals, but some scatter to their respective breeding haunts, where they live in pairs. The males, 

 however, are more numerous than the females, those which remain unmated ranging about in flocks; 

 and Mr. Earth met with one of about forty individuals on a small island, and shot fifteen out of them, 

 it being considered quite correct to shoot these even during the breeding season. 



THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE TETEAONID^ THE PARTRIDGES (Perdicuc}. 



All the Partridges have the legs bare and the nostrils naked, with a small operculum, or horny 

 skin, on the upper margin. They are found nearly all over the world, the Pacific Islands alone not 

 possessing any member of , the sub-family. In Africa and in India the Francolins constitute one 

 repi-eseiitative of the Partridges; and one species, the common Black Francolin (Franco!!, tus ccJijci'l^}, 

 is found in Asia Minor and other countries of the Mediterranean basin, extending across Persia to 

 India. The Francolin is a very handsome bird, and, although banished from Sicily, it is by no means 

 uncommon in Cyprus, and still more so in Palestine and Asia Minor. 



In America, the Partridges are called Odontophores, or, more familiarly, American Partridge, 

 and they are distinguished by the notches in the mandibles of the bill ; the latter also is higher, and 

 more arched than in the Old World species. The following note on one of the largest of the 

 Odontophores is given by that excellent observer, Prince Maximilian of Neuwied : " It is 

 called ' Capueira ' by the Brazilians. Its habits and mode of life are very similar to those of the 

 Hazel Grouse or Gelinotte of Europe (Bonasla betulinci). It never frequents the open country, 

 but confines itself entirely to the thick woods. In the early part of the year the Capueira lives 

 in pairs, and after the breeding season the families remain in coveys of from ten to sixteen or more 

 in number. These birds run very quickly, and procure their food among the dry leaves on the ground 

 in the midst of extensive woods. The stomachs of such as I examined contained fruits, berries, 

 insects, small stones, and a little sand. The part of the country in which I met with them is the 

 eastern portion of Southern Brazil, from Rio de Janeiro to 13 S. lat. ; by Spix they appear to have 

 been found still farther north. In the vast forests bordering the rivers Mucuri, Alcoba^a, Belmonte, 

 and Ilheo, they were very common, and we frequently killed them for the sake of the flesh, which 

 was excellent. Their loud and remarkable voice is heard only in the forests, where it reverberates 

 to a great distance. Azara states that the cry is uttered by both sexes, but I believe it is emitted 

 by the male only. Like the domestic cock in Europe, it frequently aroused us at the break 

 of day, bidding us, as it were, continue our researches among the grand, but almost impenetrable, 

 forests of that country. They commenced calling before daybreak, thus affording us ample time for 

 breakfasting, and enabling us to start by the dawn of the young day." 



Some of the American Partridges are familiar in parts of Britain, such as the Virginian 

 Quail (Ortyx virginianus) and the Californian Quail (Lophortyx caHfornianus), attempts having 

 been made, on more than one occasion, to introduce these birds as game inlo England ; while 



