Family PHASIANID^. Genus Perdix. 



Subfamily Perdicinm. 



PARTRIDGE. 



PERDIX CINEREA— ^mj^«. 



Geographical Distribution.— ^«Vz>^ .• Resident through- 

 out the agricultural districts of the British Islands wherever it is 

 preserved. Absent from the Outer Hebrides, but now introduced 

 into the Orkneys. Foreign: West Palaearctic region. Local in 

 Scandinavia up to lat. 66° ; West Russia, north to lat. 60° ; East 

 Russia, north to lat. 58°; West Siberia, north to lat. 57°, in 

 which locality it is a migrant, wintering in North Turkestan. 

 Southwards its range extends into Central Asia, North Persia, 

 and the Caucasus ; whilst westwards into Europe it may be met 

 with in North Turkey and Austria, the lowlands of Italy, North 

 Spain, France, Germany, Holland, and Denmark. 



Allied Forms. — Perdix cinerea, var. robtista, an inhabitant of 

 the Altai Mountains. Differs from the Common Partridge in being 

 grayer in colour, and larger. P. barbata, an inhabitant of East 

 Russian Turkestan, South-east Siberia, East Mongolia, North-east 

 Thibet, and North China. Differs from the Common Partridge in 

 having the horseshoe-shaped mark on the breast black instead 

 of chestnut, and the feathers on the throat elongated ; it is also a 

 smaller bird. 



Time during which the Partridge may be taken.— 

 September ist to February ist. Ireland: September 20th to 

 January loth. 



Habits. — The great strongholds of the Partridge are the well 

 cultivated districts, where the fields are not too large, the hedges 

 dense and affording cover during the breeding season, and 

 where grain is grown in abundance. It may be aptly described 

 as a bird of the farm-lands, although it is by no means rare 

 in many moorland districts, and in some counties is fairly 



