74- 
THK COMMON PARTI1II>QE, 
flifirrict'*, thp youni^ arc not more tlmn hnlf prnivn. 
Thfi iip.st i« fiirmeil, or railH^r the sfpot wIwtl* the epEfs 
arfi to ItH di'positetl, is scraped out in Home ready made 
hollow or ^iirrow, or plawnl undtT covpr of a tuft of 
grass, ainl finiii tivelvo to twi'iity pfffTH are depusiied. 
This mtiih' of niilificatiim prevuils througli the wholo 
genus. No nval is nm(U% and often no ^rt'Ht care 
of coiicf ahnent U displayed. In cultivated cnuiilne* 
the young graflses and corns are their favniirit© 
breeding phipes, the former often fatal from tho hay- 
harvest having commenced before the h root I ia 
batched. The choice of a placi? of security for their 
eggs is not always the s£ime» for Montague mentinns 
a pair which auccessivffly fifh'cted the top of an ohl 
pollard oak, and Mr Sefby writea of havinjf known 
several paralk'l casi^B. It in a singular trait in i)»e 
habits of many Innls, tltat ihose oftf^n of a wild na- 
ture will select the most fretjueated parts for their 
nests. Both partridges and pheasants are often dis- 
covered with the nest placed within two ur three 
feet of a highway or footpath, where thiTc is a 
daily passage of men and anhnals. The parcniH, a» 
if kaowiag their Bafety clependeii on sittinjf dose, 
remain quiet amidst all the huniJe, atjd often hatch 
in such places, 
Deiritig incubation the male sedulously attends, 
and will generally be found near if the female is in- 
truded upon by any of her less fiirinidahle enemies. 
When the brood is hatched, both lea<l about iht: young 
and asBist them to their food ; and mi hi and limid 
