. British birds . e tail rust-red; the centreblack bordered by white ; beak, orbits, and feet bright red. Length,thirteen and a half inches. The red-legged partridge, or French partridge, as it is oftencalled, is, like the pheasant, a naturahsed species, introduced byman ; but its history as a British bird is comparatively a short devoid of romance. A first attempt to naturahse it was madein the reign of Charles II., but was not successful; on its reintro-duction. about a hundred and twenty years ago, it proved weU able 266 BRITISH BIRDS to maintain existence in its new surroundings. O
. British birds . e tail rust-red; the centreblack bordered by white ; beak, orbits, and feet bright red. Length,thirteen and a half inches. The red-legged partridge, or French partridge, as it is oftencalled, is, like the pheasant, a naturahsed species, introduced byman ; but its history as a British bird is comparatively a short devoid of romance. A first attempt to naturahse it was madein the reign of Charles II., but was not successful; on its reintro-duction. about a hundred and twenty years ago, it proved weU able 266 BRITISH BIRDS to maintain existence in its new surroundings. Owing to its swift-ness of foot and excessive wildness it was difi&cult for the sportsmanto get within shooting distance of it, when partridges were shot overdogs. On this account it was dishked; so much so in some casesthat attempts were made to extirpate it. But in spite of persecutionit continued to increase, and is now found distributed over a largepart of England, from the southern counties to Fio. 90.—Red-legged Paktkidge. ^ natural size. It differs from the common partridge in language and habits, aswell as in its more conspicuously marked plumage and bright redlegs. It is not a bird of the homestead, being partial to dry, sandysoils, to commons, and uncultivated lands. Its call-note is a musical,piping cry. It breeds early, and makes a slight nest on the eggs are fifteen to eighteen in number, yellowish white in ground-colour, and blotched with brown. An allied species, the Barbary partridge {Caccabis petrosa), hasbeen included, as a rare straggler to England, among British birds. PABTBIDGE 267 cinerea.
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhudsonwh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1921
