PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 



73 



make them close to a highway, and within a foot of 

 a field path ; while some have chosen for concealment 

 the cavities of old oaks. However, their prevalent 



mode of nidification is thus : The first genial days of 

 a fine February, they have paired and selected their 

 summer abode, long before there is any need for 

 preparation for the season of incubation. They seek 

 out a ready-made cavity, which they scoop out into a 

 deeper and more symmetrical hollow ; and, without 

 furnishing the nest, but contenting themselves with 

 the bare ground, they deposit from twelve to twenty 

 eggs. It is sometimes made in a furrow, always 

 under cover of tufts of grass. 



This bird has few means of defence ; but that in- 

 stinct, which leads her to singular stratagems, is very 



