64 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PARTRIDGE 
decidedly French, as were the legs and part of the 
head ; but the breast, back, tail, and upper part of 
the head resembled those parts in the English bird. 
M. Suchetet, who has devoted much time to the 
investigation of hybrid birds, considers the inter- 
breeding of the red-legged partridge and our bird as 
being imperfectly verified. Nevertheless, he cites the 
evidence of Monsieur Duvarnet, a member of the 
Société d’Acclimatation, who purchased an apparent 
hybrid of this description from a poultry stall. ‘Its 
beak and legs were red. The feathers of the flanks 
were those of the red-legged partridge, although 
rather duller than usual. The wings and the re- 
mainder of the feathers of the body were those of the 
grey partridge, and slightly warmer in tint than 
usual.’ It may be pertinent to add that another 
member of the Société d’Acclimatation discovered 
the eggs of the red-legged and common partridges 
in the same nest, showing that the two species are 
not as indifferent to one another’s society as might 
be supposed. M. Suchetet is disposed to think that 
the common partridge has at any rate interbred with 
one of the red-legged partridges, ze. with the rock 
partridge (Perdix saxattlis). 
Such a debateable subject as the weight of any 
game bird would afford food for many opinions in the 
