The BARBARY PARTRIDGE (_Caccabis petrosa_), another member of the above
group, is principally recognisable by the reddish brown band, spotted
with white, that encircles its throat. The brow and sides of the head
are light grey, shading to a blueish tint on the wing; the throat and
eyebrows are whitish grey, the breast is of a blueish tint, shaded with
grey, the thighs are striped yellowish brown and black; the rest of
the under side is blueish grey. Some of the mantle-feathers are marked
with reddish grey; the eye, beak, and foot of this bird are similarly
coloured to those of its congeners. Its size is somewhat less than that
of the species already described. The Barbary Partridge inhabits Greece,
Sardinia, and occasionally the South of France; it is numerously met with
in North-western Africa. Naturalists are by no means agreed as to the
situations it prefers, some informing us that it selects lowland districts
or rising ground in the vicinity of corn-fields, whilst on the contrary,
Bolle, who is particularly accurate in his observations, states that
in the Canary Islands it quite as frequently lives and breeds on rocky
heights as in the valleys and open country. This savoury game we are told
by the last-mentioned authority, swarms in such numbers on four of the
Canary Islands as to be occasionally regarded as an intolerable nuisance.
Salvadori informs us that the period of incubation commences early in
February, and Bolle, that the eggs, from four to twelve in number, are
hatched in twenty-two days. After the breeding season the pairs collect
into parties, but if alarmed and separated appear to be at little trouble
to seek for and rejoin their former companions.