ZO()LO(;iC'AL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1229 



Mrs. Thompson is a founder of the Society, 

 and also of the Permanent Wild Life Protection 

 Fund, and her extensive aviaries at "Sonne- 

 berg," Canandaigua. were described and illus- 

 trated in the Btlletin by !Mr. Lee S. Crandall 

 in the issue for September, 1911. 



NATURAL ENEMIES OF INTRODUCED 



BIRDS 



B tj (j. Inxess Hartley. 



During tiie winter of 1911-1912, .Mr. J. B. 

 Thomas of New York and mj'self decided to 

 introduce the Hungarian partridge, with the 

 idea of stocking the neigiiborhood with game 

 for future shooting. 'I'he country — twentj-live 

 miles south of Harper's Eerry, Virginia — is 

 very open and hilly, well watered and divided 

 into large, clear fields averaging some fort}' 

 acres in extent, witii very little natural cover 

 for birds. We selected a spot siieltered by a 

 stone wall on the bank of a small stream where 

 a covey of bob-whites was wintering in a tangle 

 of cat briars. 



The first shipment of partridges arrived Eeb- 

 ruarj' 2i, 1912. Thev were all strong, wild 

 birds recently imported from their native heath. 



For the first few days of freedom the birds 

 did well, intermingling with the bob-whites and 

 roosting in the stone wall and under a shelter 

 of fodder prepared for them. During the first 

 week in March three were killed by a Cooper 

 hawk {Accipiter cooperi) which was finally se- 

 cured. About the lOtli of March very severe 

 weather set in and several inches of snow fell. 

 A thick crust was formed due to a brief rainy 

 spell, making the partridge and bob-white ver}' 

 conspicuous objects against the white snow. 



In less than a week all but three of the twen- 

 ty-one remaining partridges were taken by 

 hawks and vermin, some dying so far as was 

 observed from the severity of the elements. Of 

 the bob-whites but four remained out of nine. 

 The three remaining partridges took cover in 

 the stone wall, forsaking other cover, and came 

 successfully tlirougli this trying season. 



About April 1.5, we liberated twenty- four 

 more Hungarian partridges, choosing another 

 site but with practically the same setting. Dur- 

 ing the first six hours of liberation three part- 

 ridges were taken — two by Accipiter cooperi 

 and one by a red-tailed hawk (Biiteo borealis). 

 By the close of the first week there were eleven 

 p.-irtridges remaining of the second group. The 

 red-tailed liawk was their worst enemy. 



In the course of the spring, remains of these 

 partridges were found in the nests of eight red- 

 tailed hawks and in one great horned owl's nest. 



Besides one or two crows, I had never seen 

 these hawks take any wild bird before. But 

 they, having their young to provide for, natu- 

 rally took the easiest prey offered and certainly 

 these partridges, for the first few days at least, 

 unaccustomed to tiie new conditions as they 

 were, offered a most alluring mark. Since that 

 time I have never observed a red-tailed hawk 

 take one of these birds. 



During the summer of 1912 four broods were 

 raised, tiiree of which were under my daily ob- 

 servation. These contained nine, thirteen and 

 seven birds respectively. They lived in the 

 most open fields. In the fall they took to the 

 wheat stubble where they remained throughout 

 the winter. When frightened they would either 

 run swiftly to small tussocks of weeds, scarcely 

 large enough to cover them, or fly to other open 

 fields, never seeking dense cover or under- 

 brush. 



During the winter of 1912-'13 the hawks 

 were very plentiful — especially Cooper. Of 

 one covey of fourteen bob-whites only four re- 

 mained in April. These wintered in an in- 

 tensely thick tangle of cat-briars and black ber- 

 ries. Of the twenty-nine partridges observed in 

 tlie fall only seven were lost, four of these being 

 taken in March when snow covered the ground 

 for two weeks and the hawks and owls were 

 particularly numerous. These partridges have 

 now secured a firm foot-hold in the country and 

 .•ire increasing rapidly. 



To summarize, it would seem that in one 

 generation the Hungarian partridge was able to 

 adapt itself to entirely new conditions. In open 

 fields it was able to hold its own against its nat- 

 ural enemies as well as, if not better than the 

 native bob-white living in its thickets and tan- 

 gles of briars. 



Grevij Jjebra. — Even during the winter, on 

 mild, bright days the various zebras are permit- 

 ted to run into their yards for exercise. Our 

 fine, male example of the Grevy zebra, how- 

 ever, appeared to scent spring in the air a few 

 d.iys ago and commenced a series of remarkable 

 ca])ers in the shape of galloping about, pawing 

 up the ground of his corral and making dashes 

 at the fence, terminating such performances 

 with an abrupt slide. During the winter his 

 hoofs grew very soft; in fact, so tender that his 

 spring gambols resulted in liis feet becoming 

 very sore and he was necessarily confined to a 

 deeply bedded stall. In consequence there is 

 much noise from this animal as he looks through 

 the glass panels of his door and vigorously 

 brays at his more unrcstr.-iined associates who 

 exercise outside. 



