AMERICAN PARTRIDGE, OR QUAIL. 649 
sage, with a favorable wind leaving Europe for the warm- 
er parts of Asia at the approach of winter ; and with an 
auspicious gale again returning in the spring, in such 
amazing numbers that some of the islands of the Archi- 
pelago derived their name from their abundant visits. 
On the west coast of Naples, within the small space of 
four or five miles, as many as 100,000 have been taken 
in a day by nets. Our Partridge, though occupying so 
wide an extent of the Atlantic and Western States, and 
even penetrating into Mexico, is scarcely ever a bird of 
passage ; they only assemble in single families, which may 
sometimes be reduced to four or five by accidents, and 
at others increased to twenty or thirty. Their instinc- 
tive sociability continues uniformly, until interrupted in 
the spring by the desire of pairing ; at this season, the 
eager call of the male is often heard, but it nearly ceases 
when he is mated, and is only long continued by those 
who are dissatisfied, and have been unsuccesssful in their 
connexions ; and by imitating the reply of the female, 
the male is easily decoyed to approach towards the enemy 
who thus allures him. On these occasions when the rival 
candidates happen to meet, they exhibit, the only time in 
their lives, a quarrelsome disposition, fighting with obsti- 
nacy, until the contented victor at last gains the field with 
his submissive mate. The conjugal selection being now 
concluded, they are not exceeded by any of the feathered 
race in their mutual attachment and common affection for 
their brood. In the vagrant Quail, the want of reciprocal 
and durable attachment gives rise to a wholly different 
character in instinctive morality ; a common concubinage 
prevailing among them, as with our Cow Troopials. In- 
stead of the mild sociability so prevalent with our Par- 
tridge, they are pugnacious to a proverb ; “ As quarrel- 
some as Quails in a cage ” was an ancient reproof to 
55 
