CLASS II. AYES: ORDER 5. RASORES. 



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THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 



Genus PERDIX : Perdix. — Tlie Common Partridge of Europe, or Gray Partridge, P. 



cinerea, is twelve inches long, and is nearly twice the weight of our common quail ; variegated with 



j two shades of chestnut-brown and wood-brown above, and chestnut-white, and yellowish-white 



I beneath ; varieties of color are, however, common. The nest is usually made among brushwood 



I or long grass ; the eggs twelve to twenty-five. The female displays the utmost care and affection 



for her nest and eggs ; when the young are hatched the male unites with thfe female, and both 



exercise the greatest care over the brood. Their haunts are chiefly in the grain fields ; their 



food consists of grain and seeds, tender herbage and insects. This is one of the favorite game 



1 birds in England ; as many as eighty brace having been bagged in one day by a single sportsman. 



I The species is common throughout Europe, where it is, for the most part stationary. It is also 



found in Asia and Africa. 



The Red-legged or Guernsey Partridge, P. rubra, is thirteen inches long, and is common 



6 



'-#?? 



EUROPEAN QUAILS. 



jin the South of Europe. The Barbary Partridge, P. 2^etrosa, is closely allied to the preceding : 

 it is thirteen inches long, and is found in Northern Africa and portions of Southern Europe. 



