24 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



smaller, and the bands of chestnut and other markings 

 being broader. 



They pair about February. The male birds are ex- 

 tremely pugnacious, and quarrel incessantly during the 

 breeding season, these disputes being remarkable for the 

 fury and pertinacity displayed by the combatants. 



The nest of the Partridge, which is merely a few 

 straws in a hollow scratched in the earth, is usually built 

 in ploughed or clover fields, and frequently at the bottom 

 of hedgerows. The eggs, from ten to sixteen in number, 

 are of a pale greenish-brown yellow, and the young birds 

 make their appearance about the middle or end of July. 

 The male bird watches the nest during incubation, but the 

 hen alone sits on the eggs. The food of the Partridge 

 consists of grain, beans, seeds, worms, caterpillars, beetles, 

 and other insects, and in times of scarcity turniptops, 

 young clover, and probably any tender leaves. The young 

 are at first exclusively fed on insects, ants (and their eggs) 

 being consumed in great quantities. 



\ ^ 



