CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 5. RASOEES. 
243 
THE KBD-LEGSED PARTRIDGE. 
Oenus PERDIX : Perdix,—T]xQ Common Partridge of Europe, or Gray Partridge, P. 
cinerea^ is twelve inches long, and is nearly twice the weight of our common quail ; variegated with 
two shades of chestnut-brown and wood-brown above, and chestnut-white, and yellowish- white 
beneath ; varieties of color are, however, common. The nest is usually made among brushwood 
or long grass ; the eggs twelve to twenty-five. The female displays the utmost care and affection 
for her nest and eggs ; when the young are hatched the male unites with the female, and both 
exercise the greatest care over the brood. Their haunts are chiefly in the grain fields ; their 
food consists of grain and seeds, tender herbage and insects. This is one of the favorite game 
birds in England ; as many as eighty brace having been bagged in one day by a single sportsman. 
The species is common throughout Europe, where it is, for the most part stationary. It is also 
found in Asia and Africa. 
The Red-legged or Guernsey Partridge, P, riibra^ is thirteen inches long, and is common 
EUROPEAN QUAILS. 
in the South of Europe. The Barbary Partridge, P. petrosa, is closely allied to the preceding ; 
it is thirteen inches long, and is found in Northern Africa and portions of Southern Europe. 
