PARTRIDGE. 
43 
four or five to thirty, afford considerable .sport to the gunner. 
At this time the notes of the male are most frequent, clear and 
loud. His common call consists of two notes, with sometimes 
an introductory one, and is similar to the sound produced by 
pronouncing the words “ Bob White.” This call may be easily 
imitated by whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, and bring 
it near. While uttering this he is usually perched on a rail of 
the fence, or on a low limb of an apple-tree, where he will 
sometimes sit, repeating at short intervals “ Bob White,” for 
half an hour at a time. When a covey are assembled in a 
thicket or corner of a field, and about to take wing, they make 
a low twittering sound, not unlike that of young chickens; and 
when the covey is dispersed, they are called together again 
by a loud and frequently repeated note, peculiarly expressive 
of tenderness and anxiety. 
The food of the Partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, 
and berries of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian corn are 
particular favourites. In September and October the buckwheat 
fields afford them an abundant supply, as well as a secure shel- 
ter. They usually roost at night in the middle of a field on 
high ground; and from the circumstance of their dung being 
often found in such places, in one round heap, it is generally 
conjectured that they roost in a circle, with their heads out- 
wards, each individual in this position forming a kind of guard 
to prevent surprise. They also continue to lodge for several 
nights in the same spot. 
The Partridge, like all the rest of the gallinaceous order, 
flies with a loud whirring sound, occasioned by the shortness, 
concavity, and rapid motion of its wings, and the comparative 
weight of its body. The steadiness of its horizontal flight, how- 
ever, renders it no difiicult mark to the sportsman, particularly 
when assisted by his sagacious pointer. The flesh of this bird 
is peculiarly white, tender and delicate, unequalled, in these 
qualities, by that of any other of its genus in the United States. 
The Quail as it is called in New England, or the Partridge, 
as in Pennsylvania, is nine inches long, and fourteen inches in 
