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We never did actually settle on a name for our chukar as 
weren't sure of its sex; there’s no difference in the coloring 
the male and female of this species. We were familiar with 
book entitled ‘‘Robert, the Quail’’ so we tried out various 
nes using the same pattern but substituting the word ‘‘part- 
ge.’ Nothing sounded just right. When his continued peck- 
became somewhat annoying at times, one of us suggested 
- appropriateness of “‘Sir Pector.”’ 
Our chukar became our favorite conversation piece as 
ll as a dear friend. However, he proved fickle! “There came 
ight when he didn’t come to roost (and embarrassing it was, 
., for a friend had purposely brought her camera to take a 
sh picture, and we had assured her that he was a faithful 
sst and would be on hand). We were worried for fear he 
ght have come to an untimely end; but, instead, two other 
ropean partridges had come to join him. No doubt, he felt 
stable too small for three! 
We soon found out that the three were spending their 
shts on the roof of our house where adjoining wings form a 
sItered nook. Each evening at twilight, we heard soft thuds 
the roof and then the ‘‘patter of little feet.’’ A stranger in 
e house might think we had ghosts in the attic! 
One morning, as we left, a solitary chukar was perched 
the trunk of our fallen tree, chukking away quite loudly. 
e thought he was happily greeting the new day, but as our 
- approached the highway, we could see the fluff of feathers 
hich had been one of his companions. The song which we 
d mistaken for a paean of joy was no doubt a mournful 
rge. Our hearts were saddened as we drove on. We hoped 
wasn’t our special little friend. We didn’t have the heart 
stop and see. How could we have told? Ours had a curved 
ak quite different from the other two. 
We miss our little chukar outside our window. [To para- 
wrase an old proverb, we can’t help feeling that a chukar on 
e porch is preferable to two on the roof. (P.5. I should 
plain these non-native chukars are refugees from a local 
int club—but that shouldn’t make them less wild.) 
——8815 Route 120, Woodstock 
