GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 49 



plentiful on commons and rougher ground. It shows no par- 

 tiality for wooded districts, and is so thoroughly a ground bird 

 that the known instances of its perching in trees are remarkably 

 few. The Partridge lives upon the ground, and at all times 

 shows more or less reluctance to fly. Should danger threaten, it 

 prefers to squat close to the earth or to run with great quickness 

 to the shelter of standing crops or thick hedges, where its move- 

 ments are so rapid as to enable it to elude pursuit with ease. 

 When flushed, however, it not only rises quickly and suddenly, 

 but flies well and with no small speed, its rounded wings as they 

 rapidly beat the air making a loud whirring noise. Sometimes 

 the bird holds its wings stiff and arched and skims along for a 

 short distance before alighting. The Partridge obtains its food 

 on the ground, and is most active in search of it during morning 

 and early evening. During the hottest part of the day it is fond 

 of lying close in cover, and frequently resorts to some bare spot 

 in the fields to dust its plumage and to bask in the sun. Its 

 food consists of shoots and leaves of herbage, insects and their 

 larvae, snails, grain and seeds, and various wild fruits. From 

 the time the broods are grown until they are thinned down by 

 the sportsman, the Partridge lives in coveys of varying size, 

 which feed and sleep in company. At night each covey has 

 a particular resort to which the birds retire to rest, usually 

 sleeping in a circle on the ground, each with its head turned 

 outwards so that approaching danger is readily detected. The 

 note of the Partridge, which is uttered by both sexes, is a 

 peculiarly shrill kir-r-rrrick, most frequently uttered towards 

 evening and in the pairing season. In districts where the birds 

 are not very persistently chased by the sportsman the Partridge 

 shows gregarious tendencies during autumn and winter, several 

 coveys joining into a flock. During severe weather the Partridge 

 will visit the rick-yards, and is occasionally met with in most 

 unusyal localities, tempted thither by food. When fired at this 

 bird has been known to fly out to sea for a considerable distance, 

 returning to land in a very exhausted condition. 



Nidification. — The Partridge is one of the earliest birds 

 to separate into pairs, but although it does so often in February, 

 its nest is seldom found until a couple of months later. It is 



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