22 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PARTRIDGE 
grows plump and well favoured during his sojourn on 
the stubble, though the ringdove eats much of the 
food which should go to support its more welcome 
neighbour. But important as the dietary of the 
partridge must be admitted to be, the bird is no 
voluptuary, but contrives to make a shift, if occasion 
arise, without suffering any apparent ills from its mis- 
fortunes. It is too spirited a bird to be easily cowed, as 
we might guess from its self-consciousness and pride of 
carriage. Indeed birds of both sexes delight to preen 
their plumage no less than other species in which a 
striking pattern of colours is‘apparent. A strong de- 
sire of cleanliness characterises most birds. It is all 
_ against their will that they shelter thousands of para- 
sites in their downy covering. Either they seek to 
rid themselves from their tiny tormentors by frequent 
ablutions, or they cleanse their feathers by dust baths, 
which appear to answer much the same purpose as 
actual immersion in water. During the summer 
months, partridges betake themselves to their feeding 
grounds at daybreak, and occupy themselves in forag- 
ing for food until about ro a.m., by which time they 
have usually contrived to satisfy the demands of their 
appetites. This important condition of things having 
once been arrived at, the birds seek out some open spot 
where they can bask in the warm sunshine to their 
