﻿Beneficial to Agriculture. 9 



EED-LEGGED PAETEIDGE. 



Caccabis rufa. 



The Eed-legged Partridge, often called the French Partridge, 

 was first introduced into this country (in Suffolk) about 1770, and 

 has successfully and thoroughly established itself in various places, 

 especially in the eastern counties and more particularly on the 

 heavy clay soils. The general idea that this bird harasses and 

 drives away the grey partridge is entirely without foundation and 

 imaginary. Owing to the fact that the French Partridge trusts 

 almost as much to its legs as to its wings to escape from danger, it 

 was considered far inferior as a sporting bird in the old shooting 

 days of walking up the game, but with the new fashion of 

 " driving," the " red-legs " afford excellent sport and add consider- 

 ably to the bag of a day's " driving." 



The nest of this handsome bird is a slight hollow on the 

 ground, fined with a few dead leaves and grasses, under the shelter 

 of rank herbage, growing crops, or under a bush or hedgerow ; the 

 eggs vary from ten to eighteen or more. They are pale buff, 

 speckled and blotched with rufous-brown. As its name implies 

 this species has legs and feet, also the bill, deep red. The crown 

 is grey ; a black band passes from the base of the bill, enclosing the 

 eye, down the side of the neck, forming a gorget, and spreading 

 into black markings on the side of the nape and upper breast ; the 

 breast and flanks are blue-grey, the latter handsomely transversely 

 barred with bright chestnut, black and white ; belly rich fawn ; 

 upper parts olive-brown ; tail chestnut. The male has blunt conical 

 spurs or knobs on the legs (tarsi), which are absent in the female, 

 otherwise the sexes are similar, except that the male is somewhat 

 larger and more richly coloured. 



The food of this bird is similar to that of the Common 

 Partridge, and the species is consequently beneficial to agriculture. 



COEN-CEAKE. (PI. I.) 

 Crex crex. 



This bird, also called Land-Eail, is a summer migrant, arriving in 

 this country in April and leaving again in October, but in some of 

 the warmer districts of the south-west, and especially in Ireland, 

 a few remain throughout the winter months. At that season 



