LXXXIV. 

 PERDIX CIXEREA. (linn.) 



Common Partridge. 



The Partridge is everywhere more or less frequent ; a few 

 covies spreading themselves occasionally over our heathy 

 uncultivated moors. 



They lay their eggs either upon the bare ground, or upon 

 a few pieces of dry grass, carelessly scraped together ; they 

 are deposited in open pastures, meadows, or corn fields, under 

 the shelter of whins or other brushwood, amongst newly- 

 planted trees, or at the bottom of a thorn hedge. The eggs 

 are numerous, varying from 10 or 12 to 18 or 20 in num- 

 ber : they differ from the light drab of Fig. 2 to the deeper 

 reddish brown of Fig. 1 ; an intermediate variety being the 

 most frequent. The assiduous perseverance of the Partridge 

 during incubation is well known ; numbers of instances 

 might be given, none, perhaps, more striking than that men- 

 tioned by Montague, of one which allowed itself and eggs to 

 be deposited in a hat, and thus carried unresistingly into cap- 

 tivity, where it continued to sit them till the young ones were 

 brought out. 



