Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(178) THE BIRD WORLD. 
a large Hawk clinging to the front of a 
cage containing Bullfinches, and en¬ 
deavouring to reach the birds. Mr. Paul 
drove off the Hawk, which subsequently 
returned to the vicinity of the garden. 
When the Hawk made its attack on the 
cage, Mr. Paul was standing only nine 
feet away. . 
Fighting Partridges. 
Mr. G. W. Murdoch, in a most in¬ 
teresting and instructive article on 
Partridges, tells how valiantly these 
birds are given to fight in the pairing 
season. Now this fighting propensity is 
taken advantage of in certain countries 
to train Partridges for combat as barn¬ 
door cocks used to be trained in 
England. Frequently have I seen Par¬ 
tridge fights in Rajputana. In the open 
spaces in the city of Jaipur they are 
common enough, being promoted, as 
were our cockfights, for the pleasure of 
beholders and the profit and loss of 
gamblers. Birds reared for the sport 
of Partridge fighting are hand-fed from 
the nest, and become so thoroughly 
domesticated that they go about the 
owner’s premises at large like common 
fowls. They are trained to do battle 
from their chickenhood; and very easy 
is the training, because there is pro¬ 
bably not a bird of more warlike dis¬ 
position than the common Grey Par¬ 
tridge. 
Their Manner of Fighting. 
How beautifully the Partridges go at 
it when they fight, not falling into grips 
like the fighting Quails of the Malays, 
never halting and trending sideways like 
vulgar Dorkings on a dunghill. There 
is no parleying to begin with. The 
birds, set free from their wicker cages, 
though never having seen each other be¬ 
fore, straightway dart to the combat as 
if they had come pining for the settle¬ 
ment of a lifelong feud. They fall 
backward in unison like drilled knights, 
and then rush forward with arrow-like 
speed and such unerring straightness 
that the beaks clash point to point, and 
not unfrequently one or the other is 
broken. How rapidly they strike, and 
how skilful is the warding and the fenc¬ 
ing ! It is nearly all bill striking and 
head-hitting with Partridges. They do 
not rise to the spur, but bow to the con¬ 
flict and make a dash, using the head 
and neck as the accomplished pugilist 
does his fist and arm. An eye is knocked 
out; but, in the heat of battle, it is no 
more concern to the sufferer than if a 
tail feather had fallen. Failing energies 
do not quench the Partridge’s desire for 
victory. A bird will fall from sheer ex¬ 
haustion ; but terrible are its struggles 
to be up again, striking to the very 
death! Ah, the Partridge is a valorous 
bird! 
Woodcocks Nesting in Scotland. 
Of the increase of these birds as a 
nesting species in many parts of Scot¬ 
land there appears to be abundance of 
evidence. According to statistics— 
carefully collected by many who have 
devoted no little share of attention to 
the facts : —this also appears to be beyond 
dispute. The statistics which have been 
most carefully collected by Messrs. 
Buchanan, of Giffnock, with regard to 
this increase in the central districts of 
Scotland, and which have been elabo¬ 
rately worked out and even mapped by 
these gentlemen, clearly show that their 
numbers as nesting birds in “ Clyde ” 
alone are simply enormous. There can 
be no question as to such marked in¬ 
crease of British nesting Woodcocks. 
Birds and the Weather. 
Whatever others may happen to think 
about the weather of the extraordinary 
summer of 1907, it is fairly evident that 
the birds, and especially those of in¬ 
sectivorous habits, have been very well 
content with it. All through August the 
Thrushes were singing in a manner that 
is remarkable even for them, and other 
birds, whose song is much less notice¬ 
able and often quite wanting at this 
season, have been much in evidence. 
The Robin, for instance, has been very 
talkative, and did not seem to care in 
the least whether it rained or not, and 
even the Tits, as they scrambled to and 
B 
