BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
41 
see no reason why this king of our game birds may not continue to 
entice and disappoint sportsmen indefinitely. Their color is such 
that only under exceptional circumstances can they be seen at t\vent\- 
yards, so long as they remain motionless. They rarely lie to a dog 
long enough for a hunter to get into position for a fair shot. They 
are past-masters in the art of keeping a tree between themselves 'and 
their pursuer. They live in brushy places, and fly so swiftly that 
wing-shooting is hazardous, though to the man who shoots for the fun 
of shooting, more than for count, they offer great sport. Although 
partridges do not migrate, in the accepted sense of that term, yet they 
are accustomed to certain periodic movements according to season. 
An inventory of the food named above will at once suggest that a 
change of abiding place at certain times is necessary. Leaves are 
eaten the year round, and are found in most of the bird's haunts. In 
early summer insects attract them to the alder runs. In August 
berry patches are sought. September and October are spent in such 
miscellaneous growths as are found on deserted farms, as for instance 
in an old orchard, where have been allowed to grow gray birches, 
pines, and here and there a black cherry tree. During the winter 
months we find them where thick pines and patches of barberry bushes 
are contiguous. A famous winter resort for them is the tract of bar- 
berry and juniper-burdened soil extending from the village to Adams's 
Point. 
The partridge's nest is usually placed at the base of a tree, appar- 
ently with a view to having only one line of approach, and this line 
is always faced as the old bird sits. She will not leave her nest, 
when approached, till certain she is discovered, when she glides away 
with as little denionstration as possible. I have seen a well-trained 
pointer, with as good a nose for grouse as any dog living, pass at a 
walk within six feet of a partridge on her nest v/ithout being aware of 
her presence. Though I have never been able to test this matter 
more than once, I suspect the sitting bird gives ofi:' little or no scent. 
Order COLUMB^. 
Family COLUMBlDyE. 
Ectopistes migratorius. Passenger Pigeon. 315. 
Although I have kept out a weather eye for all sorts of birds, I have 
not seen a single Wild Pigeon during the last twenty years, and I fear 
it is hardly entitled to a place on a list of the birds of Durham, or 
ever will be again. Though decreasing in numbers, pigeons were not 
