The Common Red-legged Partridge 129 
The loosely scraped nest is often in a hedgerow, gorse bush, or grassy bank hidden 
in long grass. The females lay from ten to eighteen eggs, yellowish white speckled 
with rufous brown, size 1.55 by 1.2 inches. 
Food and the growth of the young seem to be very similar to that of the Common 
Partridge, though the adults seem to devour more grit and coarser foods than the 
smaller species. Incubation lasts for twenty-three days. The pure white variety of 
the Red-legged Partridge is exceedingly rare — in fact, even buff or partially white 
varieties are seldom seen. 
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