137 



Partridges. 



the hedgerow. Sometimes it is in a spinney, or the broken 

 ground and low covert beside a field, or just within a 

 plantation, or on a moor if so, not far from a damp place 

 or mire. Occasionally, also, very eccentric spots are chosen. 

 The eggs vary greatly in number, up to twenty -two, but 

 the average is probably about fourteen. Incubation 

 requires twenty -four days, during which time the male 

 keeps vigilant watch, but never assists in the sitting, 

 although doing the most he can to protect the nest. 



As soon as the young are hatched, or within a few 

 hours, they are ready to move out. This will be from 

 the middle of June to the commencement of July, but the 

 hatching-time with partridges varies so very much, conse- 

 quent on the nature of the season, locality, &c., coincident 

 with the final mating, that it is difficult to lay down a 

 hard and fast line as to the time. Immediately the young 

 move out, the old male bird commences to take his share 

 in the protection and feeding of the youngsters. The 

 partridge is naturally a hardy bird, and the percentage of 

 birds reared to eggs must be large. It suffers mainly 

 from wet weather at brooding- and hatching-time. The 

 partridge and its young roost on the ground in similar 

 spots to those where they nest. The young repose beneath 

 both the paternal and maternal wing until too large, when 

 they pass the night in a bunch, heads pointing outwards. 



The birds begin to move early in the morning, when 

 the sun rises, and start to feed. Their food is multi- 

 farious, varying according to the season. During spring 

 and early summer it consists of blades of grass, &c., all 

 sorts of seeds, chiefly of those plants coming under the 

 denomination of weeds. In addition to this form of food, 

 the birds subsist to a very great extent on insects of many 

 kinds and in various states, preferring, however, ants, 

 wireworms, and members of the aphis family ; they also 



