RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 257 



young birds when hatched were cast loose, principally 

 in Norfolk and Suffolk, in which counties they are 

 now abundant. The bird, however, notwithstanding 

 the number of eggs it lays (ten to eighteen), can 

 scarcely be said to have increased rapidly, for in many 

 parts it is still very rare, though in the eastern and 

 southern districts it is fairly abundant. It does not 

 seem to have taken with our sportsmen, partly be- 

 cause the birds are wilder and quicker on the wing, and 

 spread when flushed, partly because they are very 

 loth to rise, and will run with great swiftness on the 

 ground, often not flying until they are out of shot. 

 Their flavour, too, when cooked is considered greatly 

 inferior to that of the Common Partridge. In its 

 habits it somewhat resembles the latter, frequenting 

 the same districts, though more often seen on com- 

 mons and waste lands than its namesake. It some- 

 times perches in trees and on hedgerows, which the 

 Common Partridge never does, unless perchance 

 driven to it by dogs. Its food consists largely of in- 

 sects ; it also feeds upon grain and seeds. The nest 

 is placed upon the ground, and consists of a hollow 

 scratched in the ground and rather more thickly lined 

 than the nest of the preceding with dry grass and 

 leaves. It has also been found several feet from the 

 ground, as for instance on the top of a stack. 



The eggs are much larger than those of the Com- 

 mon Partridge. They are of a dull buff ground 

 colour, highly polished, and spotted and speckled with 

 reddish or cinnamon brown. 



It is said this bird wherever it is very abundant 

 has almost driven out the Common Partridge, and is 

 consequently treated like the Hawks and Crows as 

 vermin. We, however, cannot yet corroborate this 



17 



