28 



BIRD GALLERY. 



Subfamily III. PerdiciruB. Partridge-like Game-Birds. 



As already mentioned^ this subfamily includes the Old-World 

 Partridges and Quails, which may be distinguished by the following 

 characters : — The cutting-edge of the lower mandible is not serrated 

 or provided with a tooth-like process. The first flight-feather is 

 longer than or equal to the tenth. In one or two of the species of 

 Prancolin it is slightly shorter, but these may at once be recognised as 

 belonging to the Perdicince by their short tails. 



The most perfect type of Partridge-wing is found in such forms as the 

 Snow Partridge (Lerwa) and the Quails {Coturnix, Syncecus, and 

 Excalfactoria) , in which the first flight-feather is equal to or very 

 slightly shorter than the second, and the tenth is much the shortest. 

 These, as might be expected, are all birds with great powers of flight. 

 [Case 1-5.] Pour different species of Partridge {Perdix) (129-132) are known. 



As considerable interest attaches to the sexual differences in plumage 

 of the Common Partridge {P- perdix) (129), wings of the male and 

 female have been exhibited to show the only reliable character for 

 distinguishing the sexes except in very young birds. It will be seen 

 that the lesser and median wing-coverts of the male are without the buff 

 cross-bars so conspicuous on the feathers of the female. Young birds — 

 that is to say birds of the year, whether male or female — may always be 

 distinguished fi'om old birds by having the first flight-feather j9om/e<^ at 

 the tip instead of rounded. The pointed first flight-feather, being re- 

 tained till the following autumn moult, is a better character for denoting 

 age than the colour of the feet. In the earlier part of the season the 

 feet of young birds are yellowish-brown, but at the commencement of 

 the hard weather they become pale bluish-grey like those of the adult. 



A curious rufous variety of the Common Partridge was described by 

 Brisson in 1760, under the name Perdioe montana (130). That it is 

 merely a strongly marked variety is clearly shown by the forms 

 exhibited, which show the intermediate stages between the most typical 

 rufous bird and the normal plumage. This chestnut phase of plumage, 

 which occurs in birds of either sex, was first recorded from the moun- 

 tains of Lorraine, where it appears to be fairly numerous. Since 

 that date similar examples have been procured from time to time- in 

 various counties of England, notably in Northumberland, where the 

 rufous birds were supposed by some to be hybrids between the Red 

 Grouse and Common Partridge. 

 [Case 15.] The Indian Bush-Quails (Perdicula) (133) and Painted Bush-Quails 

 (Microperdix) (134) together include only five small species peculiar to 

 India. They differ from the true Quails in the shape of the wing, the 

 first flight-feather being comjoaratively short. 



