MR. OGILVIE-GRANT ON COLOUR- VARIATION IN PARTRIDGES. 285 



EXHIBITIONS AND NOTICES. 



March 23, 1915. 



R. H. Burne, Esq., M.A., Vice-President, 

 in the Chair. 



Colour- Variation in Partridges. 



Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, F.Z.S., exhibited a series of 

 specimens of Partridges, including a number from the Tring 

 Museum, kindly lent by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, D.Sc, 

 F.R.S., F.Z.S., and drew attention to two notable colour- variations 

 of the Red-legged Partridge (Caccabis rufa). He remarked : — 

 " As most people are aware this species is not indigenous to 

 Great Britain, having been introduced about 1770, and since 

 spread over a large part of England, being especially numerous 

 from Lincoln to Essex and in the Home Counties. The remark- 

 able variation which I now exhibit has the head, eyebrow-stripes, 

 cheeks, and throat black, and the rest of the plumage dull 

 vinaceous-red with a patch of white feathers in the middle of 

 the belly, forming an irregular horse-shoe-mark. The first 

 example was killed at Braintree, Essex, on October 20th, 1908, 

 by Mr. A. W. Ruggles-Brise, and presented by him to the 

 Natural History Museum. On October 20th, 1914, an almost 

 precisely similar specimen was killed at Higham, Kent, by 

 Mr. H. M. Cobb, sent by him to the 'Field' office, and 

 subsequently presented by Dr. H. Hammond Smith to the 

 Museum. Higham is about 30 miles, as the crow flies, from 

 Braintree, and it seems a remarkable coincidence that a second 

 specimen of this quite unique variation of the Red-leg should 

 have been killed exactly six years after the first, and in nearly 

 the same locality." 



Other variations of this species were also shown, but it was 

 pointed out that colour - variations were very rare, althouo-h 

 partial albinism sometimes occurred. The remarkable variation 

 above mentioned had been described and figured in ' British 

 Game-Birds and Wildfowl' (pi. xxi. fig. 2, 1912). 



Mr. Ogilvie-Grant also exhibited a series of colour-variations 

 of the Common Partridge (Perdix perdix), amongst which was 

 the well-known chestnut form, P. montana Brisson. This form 

 appeared to be comparable to the rufous variety of the Red-leg, 

 but in this instance the variation was comparatively common, 

 having been first described in 1760 from the mountains of 

 Lorraine, and subsequently obtained in almost every county in 

 England and some parts of Scotland. 



Lastly, specimens of the Bearded Partridge (P. daurica), from 

 Manchuria, were exhibited. This species was being sold in 

 Proc. Zool. Soc— -1915, No. XX. 20 



