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  THE 
  VEETEBRATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  " 
  DEE." 
  

  

  other 
  varieties, 
  instead 
  of 
  what 
  they 
  ordered; 
  the 
  result 
  being 
  

   that 
  Red-legged 
  and 
  other 
  forms 
  of 
  Partridge 
  have 
  been 
  

   hatched 
  out 
  in 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  Hence 
  it 
  is 
  

   just 
  as 
  likely 
  that 
  this 
  "Aberdeenshire 
  specimen" 
  had 
  been 
  

   hatched 
  in 
  the 
  district 
  as 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  migratory 
  visitor. 
  

  

  Genus 
  PERDIX, 
  Brisson. 
  

   Perdix 
  cinerea, 
  Latham. 
  Partridge. 
  

  

  Common 
  on 
  all 
  suitable 
  ground 
  throughout 
  " 
  Dee." 
  The 
  

   Partridge, 
  like 
  most 
  other 
  birds, 
  is 
  subject 
  to 
  considerable 
  

   variation 
  in 
  colour. 
  A 
  not 
  uncommon 
  variation 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  

   light 
  drab, 
  with 
  faintly-traced 
  tints 
  of 
  the 
  ordinary 
  markings. 
  

   In 
  others 
  the 
  colours 
  are 
  almost 
  pure 
  white, 
  but 
  in 
  each 
  of 
  

   these 
  the 
  specimens 
  were 
  all 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  with 
  ill- 
  

   developed 
  feathers. 
  Another 
  variation, 
  not 
  so 
  common, 
  is 
  

   that 
  of 
  birds 
  that 
  agree 
  with 
  that 
  figured 
  by 
  Sir 
  William 
  

   Jardine 
  as 
  Perdix 
  Montana, 
  Nat. 
  Lib., 
  vol. 
  iv., 
  p. 
  79. 
  Others 
  

   again 
  are 
  of 
  a 
  dark 
  chestnut 
  colour, 
  one 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  

   possession 
  of 
  the 
  Hon. 
  Captain 
  Forbes, 
  Glasgoego 
  Cottage, 
  

   Blackburn. 
  

  

  Genus 
  COTURNIX, 
  Bonnaterre. 
  

  

  Coturnix 
  communis, 
  Bonn. 
  Quail. 
  

  

  The 
  Quail 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  common 
  species 
  in 
  " 
  Dee," 
  still 
  it 
  is 
  

   one 
  that 
  is 
  occasionally 
  found, 
  and 
  its 
  nest 
  and 
  eggs 
  have 
  

   been 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  district. 
  A 
  Quail's 
  nest 
  with 
  twelve 
  eggs 
  

   was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  parish 
  of 
  New 
  Deer 
  by 
  the 
  Rev. 
  J. 
  Smith, 
  

   Monquhitter, 
  in 
  1848. 
  A 
  nest, 
  also 
  containing 
  twelve 
  eggs, 
  was 
  

   found 
  on 
  the 
  estate 
  of 
  Craigmile, 
  Aberdeenshire, 
  July, 
  1865, 
  

   three 
  of 
  which 
  came 
  into 
  my 
  hands. 
  It 
  is 
  reported 
  in 
  

   the 
  Aberdeen 
  Herald, 
  November 
  4th, 
  1865, 
  that 
  a 
  Quail 
  was 
  

   shot 
  near 
  Grandholm. 
  One 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  Kintore, 
  September 
  

   5th, 
  1870, 
  and 
  another 
  at 
  Craigmile 
  on 
  the 
  16th 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  

   month. 
  A 
  pair 
  bred 
  at 
  Craigdam, 
  parish 
  of 
  Tarves, 
  in 
  the 
  

   summer 
  of 
  1870. 
  In 
  1876 
  a 
  pair 
  bred 
  at 
  Tarland. 
  For 
  the 
  

   information 
  respecting 
  the 
  last 
  the 
  writer 
  is 
  indebted 
  to 
  

   Mr. 
  John 
  M'Bain, 
  head 
  keeper 
  to 
  Lord 
  Aberdeen. 
  A 
  pair, 
  

   male 
  and 
  female, 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  Lindsay 
  Pirie, 
  Esq., 
  near 
  

   Inverurie, 
  October 
  12th 
  and 
  19th, 
  1885. 
  One, 
  a 
  female, 
  was 
  

  

  