Partridge

Partridge, any bird of the gallinaceous genus Perdix of the Grouse family (Tetraonidce), with three species, ranging over the Continental Palav arctic region. The name is also applied to the birds of the genus (or sub-genus) Caccabis, dis tinguished by a rudimentary spur, and is sometimes extended to the sub-family Perdicinas, which includes the American Partridge and the Quail. In these birds the legs are bare, and the nostrils naked, with a horny skin on the upper margin. The Common Partridge (P. cinerea) is a well-known British game bird, with a close time from February 1 to August 31. The male is about 12 inches long, and the female somewhat less; the head and throat are light yellowish chestnut; breast bluish-grey, freckled with blackish-brown, and on the lower part a brownish-red horseshoe or crescent, which is much smaller, or absent, in the hen-bird. The sides are barred with chestnut, and the back marked with brownish-black lines of brownish-yellow and grey. These birds frequent open and cultivated ground, and are rarely found in woodland; they feed on grain and seeds, insects and their larvae, ants' "eggs" - really the pupa; - and, when these fail, clover or any tender leaves. The flight is rapid, but never high or long-sustained; it consists of several quick strokes to give impetus, and then the bird skims along with extended wings. Pairing takes place about February. The nest is usually a hollow in the ground, and contains from ten to sixteen eggs, yellowish-brown in colour, and the young come out in July. Both parents employ stratagem to attract strangers away from the nest or young brood.

Game-preservers often hatch partridge eggs under hens, and the young are reared on ants' "eggs." The Red-legged or French Partridge {Perdix, or Caccabis rufa), native in southern Europe, is now naturalised in East Anglia, where it is said to have almost driven out the native species.