"How beautiful they look! with outstretched tails, THIS beautiful Bird, so well known and eagerly sought after by all the Sportsmen of our country, is found in considerable abundance in almost every State of the Union, extending from the extreme parts of Canada, even to the southernmost banks of the Rio Grande. The inhabitants of the Northern States call it Quail in the Middle or Southern States it is more familiarly known as the Partridge, or Virginia Partridge. The habits and natural history of the American Partridge having already been so amply descanted upon by many able Ornithologists who have graced this country by their presence, and enriched our libraries with their splendid works, it would seem superfluous, if not really hopeless, in us to attempt to add anything further upon a subject thus dwelt upon by others far more competent to the task. However, as we propose bringing to the notice of our readers the practical experience of Shooters in general, in connection with the more scientific observations and researches of Ornithologists, regarding all those Birds of our country which properly belong to the Sportsman's catalogue, we must be pardoned, ex necessitaté rerum, for going over much ground already touched upon by other writers, and which may be learned from any of the excellent works already published on this branch of Natural History. "The Partridge is nine inches long, and fourteen inches in extent; the bill is black; line over the eye, down the neck, and whole chin pure white, bounded by a band of black, which descends and spreads broadly over the throat; the eye is dark hazel; down neck and upper part of the breast, red brown; sides of the neck spotted with white and black, on a reddishbrown ground; back scapulars and lesser coverts, red brown intermixed with ash, and sprinkled with black; tertials edged with yellowish-white, beautifully marked with numerous curving spots or arrowheads of black; tail, ash sprinkled with reddish-brown; legs, very pale ash." The above accurate description (as well as the major part of the other scientific descriptions of Birds in this work), taken from Wilson, being so perfect in itself, there remains nothing to add, except that the female Bird is distinguished from the male by its diminished weight and size, and also by its plumage being somewhat yellowish-brown about the chin and sides of the head. HABITS. Partridges, in sections of the country where they are much troubled by Sportsmen, become extremely shy and wild, seldom venturing far into the open fields, but confine themselves to the edges of close cover, to which they take at the slightest alarm, secreting themselves in the thickets, and not unfrequently perching upon the branches of the largest forest trees. The act of perching upon trees is not, however, a natural habit of this Bird, but appears to be solely the result of fright, or, perhaps, a precaution of safety which circumstances have taught it to adopt to escape from its pursuers. In hilly and mountainous districts, Partridges are much more apt to fly to the trees than in other parts; and, in such a locality, we knew of a whole covey betaking themselves to a tree and remaining there, perfectly concealed from view, for some considerable time, greatly to our mystification, and that of our Dogs also.* In their natural, undisturbed state, Partridges delight in the open country, frequenting without fear the stubble fields appertaining to the well-cultivated farms of our agriculturists, where they can obtain a plentiful supply of loose grain. The morning and evening is the time when Partridges feed. When the weather is favorable, they leave their roost at an early hour of the day, and, being very industrious feeders, they are soon able to retire from the open fields to some favorite and secluded spot, to bask themselves in the mid-day sun, or roll themselves in the dust to rid their plumage of the vermin with which all Birds more or less are infested. Partridges are not strictly migratory Birds, as the greater portion of them remain distributed throughout the northern portions of our country during the whole winter, and not unfrequently suffer immensely from the intense cold and deep snows; still, at that period of the autumn known as the "running season," large numbers abandon their former haunts, and, continuing along the borders of our rivers, take up their abode for a time in the lowlands, hundreds of miles, perhaps, from their breeding-places. Of this peculiarity we shall, however, speak more fully hereafter, under a separate head. In the northern sections of our country, the ground is frequently covered for weeks with snow; and, all access to food being thus cut off, these poor Birds, driven by stern necessity, often become quite tame, visiting the barnyards, and even mixing with the poultry, to gain a scanty subsistence, which not unfrequently preserves them from actual starvation. * In such situations, it is not unusual to find numbers taking to the trees when frequently disturbed. Besides thus falling victims to the inclemency of the weather, large numbers are now destroyed, not only by the gun, but by the aid of traps, nets, and other ingenious contrivances; and we have seen, in former times, the Philadelphia markets, and the villages of the interior, fairly overstocked with live Birds, taken in various ways by the farmer boys. When this is the case, it behooves every Sportsman living in the country, or residing in the city, to purchase all Birds thus offered for sale, and keep them till the breaking up of winter, when they may be let loose upon a friend's estate, or turned out into some neighborhood where he is in the habit of shooting, and where, from the nature of the country, they will be apt to remain during the breeding season. By pursuing this course, the provident Sportsman will be richly repaid for all his trouble and humanity, at the coming shooting season, by the number of Birds that will thus be produced in some favorite shooting locality, as the fecundity of the Partridge is extraordinary, and the coveys raised from a few couples of old Birds, in a favorable season, will be sufficient to afford Sport for several days' moderate Shooting. PERIOD OF PAIRING. Partridges commence pairing in the month of March, early or late, according to the state of the weather; and, even after separating for the purposes of procreation, it is not unusual for them to reassemble into coveys as before, provided the weather should again become stormy and cold, as is often the case in our changeable climate. There is no doubt but there are more male Birds hatched than females, and this rather singular circumstance gives rise to fierce battles between the Cock Birds for the possession of the females at the coupling season; and to such extent are these encounters carried, that they sometimes result in the death of one or both of the rival combatants. This fact is so well established in the English variety, that it is no uncommon thing for the owners of some choice preserves to have the Partridges on their manors netted, soon after the pairing season, and to destroy the surplus males, or old bachelors, as they are facetiously termed. This precaution prevents those strifes, and at the same time insures a larger produce of young Birds; for, if the female be pursued by several Cocks, during the period of incubation, she has no opportunity to form a nest, but drops her eggs about in various places, no two, perhaps, together. Partridges generally complete their nests in five or six weeks after pairing. A small tuft of grass, sheltered by a bush or a tree, the corner of a worm fence, or the foot of an old stump, are the spots usually selected for the building of their nests, which are composed of leaves, dry grass, and a few feathers plucked from her own person. The little habitation is rudely, but often ingeniously constructed; and, being so well concealed from observation, it not unfrequently bids defiance to the searching glances of the most inquisitive eye, as well as affording ample protection on every side from the inclemency of the weather. The eggs are white, and average from fifteen to twenty in number, and, in some rare instances, greatly exceed that quantity. If the Birds be in their prime, and the season very favorable, it is not improbable that the female may deposit twenty-five or even thirty eggs, but such cases are anomalies; and we should be more disposed to attribute the unusual increase of eggs to an occasional propensity that some Birds have of laying in each other's nests. Mr. Daniel, speaking of the amazing fecundity of the English Partridge, which is closely allied to our species, states that a nest was discovered with thirty-three eggs in it, another with twenty-eight, and another with thirty-three. The greatest number we have ever seen in the nest of the American Bird is twenty-four; but we have often been told by farm hands that twenty-five is no unusual number. For the truth of these vague assertions we cannot, however, vouch. The period of incubation is about twenty-one days; some contend for a longer period; but we believe the former statement the more correct, although, in proof of the latter assertion, it has been argued that it requires four weeks to hatch the eggs when placed under a common Hen. This, however, proves nothing, as the disparity in the time may be accounted for by the circumstance of the Partridge setting much closer than the domestic fowl, and, consequently, generating a larger amount, if not a higher degree, of animal heat. |