The nest is merely a slight hollow in the ground, lined with a few dried leaves, or bits of grass scraped together; it is usually placed beneath a tuft of grass, among standing corn, or even by the road-side.
The eggs are from twelve to twenty, and of a greenish brown tint; occasionally, a greater number are found, but these are not supposed to be the produce of one bird. The female alone broods, guarding her nest with zealous anxiety, but her partner is also on the watch, lest danger should approach.
The following instance of the care of the Partridge for her eggs is related by Mr. Jesse:—"A gentleman living near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, who was one day riding over his farm superintending his men as they ploughed a piece of fallow land, saw a Partridge glide off her nest so near the foot of one of his plough-horses that he thought the eggs must have been crushed: this, however, was not the case; but he found that the old bird was on the point of hatching, as several of the eggs were beginning to chip. He observed the old bird return to her nest the instant that he left the spot. It was evident that the next round of the plough must bury the nest and eggs in the furrow. His surprise was great, when returning with the plough, he came to the spot and saw the nest indeed, but the eggs and bird were gone. An idea struck him that she had removed her eggs, and he found her before he left the field sitting under the hedge upon twenty-one eggs. The round of ploughing had occupied about twenty minutes, and in this short time she, assisted by the cock bird, had removed the twenty-one eggs to a distance of about forty yards."
Another interesting anecdote is thus related by Mr. Murkwick:—"As I was hunting with an old pointer the dog came upon a brood of very small Partridges, the old bird cried, fluttered, and ran tumbling along, just before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable distance, when she took wing and flew still further off, but not out of the field; on this the dog returned to me near the place where the young ones lay concealed in the grass. This the bird no sooner perceived than she flew back again to us, settled before the dog's nose again, and by rolling and tumbling about drew off his attention from her young and thus preserved her brood a second time. I have also seen," continues the same writer, "when a Kite has been hovering over a covey of young Partridges, the old birds fly up at the bird of prey, screaming and fighting with all their might to preserve their brood."
Of the same daring spirit Mr. Selby gives the following remarkable instance:—"A person engaged in a field not far from his residence, had his attention arrested by some objects on the ground, which upon approaching he found to be two Partridges, a male and female, engaged in battle with a Carrion Crow; so successful and so absorbed were they in the issue of the contest, that they actually held the Crow till it was seized and taken from them by the spectator of the scene. Upon search, the young birds (very lately hatched) were found concealed in the grass. It would appear that the Crow (a mortal enemy to all kinds of young game), in attempting to carry off one of these, had been attacked by the parent birds, with the above singular result."
The eggs of Partridges are frequently hatched under a Domestic Hen, and the young reared on ants' eggs, curds, and grits, with a little green food, when old enough they should be fed with grain. They are easily tamed, though it is said they never wholly forget their wild origin. An account is given by Daniell of one of these birds that became an inmate of a clergyman's house, which long after its full growth entered the parlour at breakfast and other times, received food from any hand, and stretched itself before the fire, the warmth of which it seemed to enjoy.
The FRANCOLINS (Francolinus) are distinguishable by their moderately long, powerful, and slightly-hooked beak, and by the two spurs upon their foot. The tail, composed of fourteen feathers, is either quite straight or gently rounded at its extremity; the third or fourth wing-quill exceeds the rest in length. The thick plumage is often much variegated. The male and female are usually alike in size, colour, and markings. These birds inhabit the southern portions of Asia, and are very numerously met with on the continent of Africa. Some species frequent level plains, while others live in forests; when disturbed they conceal themselves in the brushwood in the thickest part of the jungle, not venturing forth again till all danger has disappeared. Should no hiding-place be near, they endeavour to escape by running, and have only recourse to their wings when the danger is very urgent. In their general habits they very much resemble the true Partridges; they breed at the same season, testify the same care and devotion for their young, and are equally prolific. They differ, however, from Partridges, inasmuch as they do not frequent cultivated grounds, but prefer the neighbourhood of woods, where they seem to select damp localities overgrown with reeds. They live upon berries quite as much as upon grain, and seek eagerly for such worms and insects as abound in marshy soil. The African species feed on small bulbous roots which they dig from the ground with their beaks. They are very fond of perching upon trees, especially during the night, and their call is much more harsh and noisy than that of the Partridge. Their flesh is excellent. (See [XXIX].—Coloured Plate—Sanguine Francolin, Ithaginis cruentus.)
THE BLACK PARTRIDGE.