Partridges are of a shy and timid nature, which shows itself in many ways. Nor are their suspicious fears unjustifiable, when it is remembered how numerous are their foes, for foxes and birds of prey make continual and unsparing war upon them. The latter especially are particularly dreaded. At the mere sight of one of the Falcon tribe a Partridge will stop as though struck with stupor, and so overcome with fear as almost to be incapable of concealing itself, remaining absolutely immovable; and it is not until the dreaded enemy is gone that it regains self-control.
When a bird of prey dashes at one of them unsuccessfully when in cover, no human power is able to make it abandon its retreat, and any one can then lay hands on it without difficulty. A Partridge has even been known to allow itself to be stifled with smoke in its hiding-place rather than again expose itself to the claw of the Falcon, Vulture, or Sparrow-hawk.
The knowledge of these facts has suggested a very simple and effectual method of killing Partridges successfully. This consists in frightening them with the help of an artificial bird of prey, attached to the tail of a kite flown over them. While the Partridges are paralysed by fright from this deception, the sportsmen advance and make the birds flush within easy shooting distance.
Notwithstanding their wild nature, Partridges are susceptible of domestication, and, with care and gentleness, they may be rendered very tame. Girardin relates that a Grey Partridge, reared by a Carthusian, became so familiar that it followed its protector about like a dog. Willoughby states that an inhabitant of the county of Sussex succeeded in taming a whole covey of Partridges, and was in the habit of driving them before him like a flock of Geese. Tournefort relates that formerly, in the Isle of Chio, flocks of Red-legged Partridges were reared which allowed themselves to be driven about in exactly the same way; and Sonini speaks of two Red-legged Partridges which an inhabitant of Aboukir had managed to tame. All these facts abundantly prove that, with a little patience, it would be possible to raise the Partridge to the dignity of a domestic farm-yard fowl.
The Partridge is highly esteemed by epicures; it is also the delight of the sportsman, because it lies well to dogs. On account of its abundance, especially of the Grey variety, this may be called the "favourite game" of the French empire. Partridge-shooting, moreover, is what is generally chosen for the education of the inexperienced shot; the dog, too, by its pursuit, acquires such sagacity that renders him a valuable assistant to the disciple of St. Hubert.
Fig. 166.—Grey Partridge and Young (Perdix cinerea, Ray).
Let us now take a rapid glance at the various species of the Partridge. The Grey Partridge (Perdix cinerea) is the most common; it is very plentiful over the whole of Central Europe, the North of France, Belgium, Holland, and Great Britain. In these countries it frequents the cultivated districts, the vast plains covered with crops, and the artificial meadows, in all of which it lives and breeds. This bird is not altogether harmless to the pursuits of agriculture, as, after seed-time, it is not satisfied with the grain left on the surface, but digs out those that are growing. It also devours the young green shoots of corn, and attacks the ears when they come to maturity. Its increase on a large scale might, therefore, produce serious mischief, which would hardly be compensated for by the services which it renders in destroying worms, insects, and grubs.
The Grey Partridge furnishes a variety of smaller size, the Migratory Partridge, which is not known in England. It is remarkable for its vagrant character, and forms a singular contrast to the stay-at-home habits of the genus generally. It makes its appearance in large flocks at the most diverse seasons and in the most varied latitudes. Not migratory in the proper sense of the word, its journeys seem undertaken under the influence of some unknown cause, and are wanting in regularity and constancy. It does not always follow the same route, and its journeys are intermittent. This bird is of a very shy nature, and is frequently met with in the East (Turkey, Syria, and Egypt); it is sometimes noticed in France, where it is called the Damascus Partridge.
