AS CONCERNING PARTRIDGE-NESTS 45 
The hen partridge employs a low clucking call-note to 
attract the attention of her young, which respond to her 
endearments with a complacent purring sound, pitched 
so low as to escape the ear of any but the most 
attentive listener. One brilliant morning in July, an 
angling friend was returning home from a night’s 
trout-fishing ; feeling tired, he sat down behind a 
rough stone dyke to rest and enjoy the solace of a 
pipe. Scarcely had he taken up his position, when he 
heard and recognised the cry of the young partridge. 
Peering through the interstices of the wall, he saw a 
pair of partridges and their young taking their 
pleasure in the adjoining field, which happened to 
be under clover. Unsuspicious of danger, the half- 
grown birds were full of play, sparring freely with 
their fellows as they made their way through the 
Herbage. Early as the hour was, the old cock was 
quite on the alert. No sooner did he detect a 
symptom of danger, than he hastened to sound a 
cluck of alarm, after which he rose upon the wing and 
flew further afield. The old hen and the young 
birds disappeared instantly—as if by magic—and 
were seen no more. Indeed, we have often admired 
the readiness of resource exhibited by young par- 
tridges. Unable to elude pursuit by flight, each 
individual acts by a common instinct or feeling of 
