The VIRGINIAN or AMERICAN PARTRIDGE (_Ortyx Virginianus_) represents a
group distinguishable by the following characteristics:--Their body is
short and powerful, with the neck and head of medium size; the beak is
strong, short, much vaulted, and has the lower mandible incised, the upper
mandible terminates in a hook, while the margin of the lower portion
near its apex presents two or three distinct notches. The moderate-sized
and arched wing has the fourth quill longer than the rest; the rounded
tail is composed of twelve feathers, and the foot is protected by rows
of smooth, horny plates in front, and covered with small scales at the
back and sides. The plumage is glossy, and prolonged into a crest on
the head. In the male all the feathers of the mantle are reddish brown,
spotted and lined with black and edged with yellow; those on the under
side are whitish yellow, striped with reddish brown and marked with black.
Two bands, the one white, the other black, pass across the brow; the
white throat is separated from the sides of the neck--which is mottled
with black, brown, and white, by a black line. The upper wing-covers are
principally reddish brown; the dark brown primary quills are bordered
with blue on the outer web; the secondaries are irregularly striped with
brownish yellow; the centre tail-feathers are greyish yellow, dotted with
black; the rest are greyish blue. The eye is reddish, the beak dark brown,
and the foot greyish blue. The female has more yellow on the brow and
neck, and the rest of her plumage is less clearly marked than that of her
mate; the young resemble the mother. This species is nine inches long, and
thirteen inches and five-sixths broad; the wing measures four inches and a
half, and the tail two inches and a quarter.
Canada forms the northern, the Rocky Mountains the western, and the Gulf
of Mexico the southern limit of the range of these birds. They have been
introduced into the island of Jamaica, where they thrive, breeding in that
warm climate twice in the year. In the southern part of the United States
they are stationary, but in the north they make yearly expeditions, which
resemble migrations. They are principally met with in open fields, or
about fences sheltered by bushes or briars, and they sometimes visit the
woods, but are rarely found in the depths of the forest. In their general
demeanour they very much resemble our own Partridge. They run nimbly and
fly swiftly, making a loud whirring sound with their wings. When chased
by dogs they take refuge in the trees, where they remain until danger
is past, walking with ease on the branches. Their usual cry is a clear
whistle. The love-call of the male consists of three clear notes, the two
last being the loudest, and resembling the syllables, "Ah! Bob White!"
"The male," says Audubon, "is seen perched on a fence, stake, or on
the low branch of a tree, standing nearly in the same position for
hours together, and calling, 'Ah! Bob White,' at every interval of a
few minutes. Should he hear the note of a female, he sails directly
towards the spot whence it proceeded. Several males may be heard from
the different parts of a field, challenging each other, and should they
meet on the ground they fight with great courage and obstinacy until
the conqueror drives off his antagonist to another field." About the
beginning of May the female proceeds to build her nest; this is placed
on the ground, close to a tuft of grass, and partly sunk in the earth:
it is formed of leaves and fine dry grass, is of a circular form, and
covered above, with an opening at the side. The eggs are of a pure white,
and rather sharp at the smaller end. Both parents assist in hatching the
eggs. When the young are freed from the shell they leave the nest, and
are led in search of food by their mother, who shelters them with most
assiduous care. If danger threatens, she throws herself across the path of
the intruder, beating the ground with her wings as if severely wounded,
and uttering notes of alarm to decoy the stranger into pursuit of herself,
and give warning to her young to conceal themselves in the high grass till
the danger is past, when, having allured her pursuer to a distance, she
returns, and leads them safe home. The American Partridge usually rears
only one brood in the year, but should this be destroyed she immediately
prepares another nest, and even should mischance befall this also, a third
batch of eggs is laid. This Partridge has been occasionally employed to
hatch the eggs of the Domestic Hen.
[Illustration: THE VIRGINIAN PARTRIDGE (_Ortyx Virginianus_). ONE-HALF
NATURAL SIZE.]
"A friend of mine," says Wilson, "informs me, that of several hens'
eggs, which he substituted for those of the Partridge, she brought out
the whole; and that for several weeks he occasionally surprised her in
various parts of the plantations, with her broods of chickens, on which
occasions she exhibited much alarm, and practised her usual manœuvres for
their preservation. Even after they were considerably grown and larger
than the Partridge herself; she continued to lead them about; but though
their notes or call were those of common chickens, their manners had
all the shyness, timidity, and alarm of young Partridges: they ran with
great rapidity, and squatted in the grass exactly after the manner of
the Partridge. Soon after this they disappeared, having probably been
destroyed."
In summer the food of these birds consists of insects, berries, and
grain, and in the autumn they revel in the fields of buckwheat and Indian
corn. When winter comes, and their supplies have disappeared, those in
the northern districts commence their southward course, and many perish
during these journeys. Early in October the shores of the large rivers
are covered with flocks of them, which rove along the margin of the river
and cross towards evening, the weaker ones often falling and perishing in
the water. After the principal streams have been thus crossed, the flocks
distribute themselves about the country, and resume their usual mode
of life. During the severity of winter they often suffer from scarcity
of food, and will then approach the dwellings of men, and become half
domesticated, visiting the barns and mixing with the poultry, to share
their food. The eggs of this species have frequently been hatched by the
Domestic Hen; two of these birds that had been brought up in this manner,
according to Wilson, associated with the cows, followed them to the
fields, returned with them in the evening, stood by them while milked, and
again returned with them to pasture. These remained during winter, lodging
in the stable, but as soon as spring came they disappeared.
Dr. Bachmann attempted to domesticate the American Partridge, and gives
us the following account of his proceedings:--"The eggs had been obtained
from the fields, and were hatched under a Bantam hen. By confining the
young with their foster mother for a few days they soon learned to follow
her like young chickens. They were fed for a couple of weeks on curds,
but soon began to eat cracked Indian corn and several kinds of millet.
They were permitted to stray at large in my garden; but fearing that they
might be induced to fly over the enclosure and stray away, I amputated a
joint of the wing. There was no difficulty in preserving them during the
summer and winter, and they became so very gentle that they were in the
habit of following me through the house, and often seated themselves for
hours on the table at which I was writing, occasionally playfully pecking
at my hand and running off with my pen. At night they nestled in a coop,
placed for that purpose in the garden. The cats in the neighbourhood,
unfortunately for my experiment, took a fancy to my birds and carried
off several, so that at the breeding season my stock was reduced to two
females, with a greater number of males; the latter now commenced their
not unmusical notes of 'Bob White,' at first low, but increasing in energy
and loudness till they were heard throughout the whole neighbourhood.
These notes were precisely similar to those of the wild birds, affording
a proof that they were natural, and not acquired by an association with
others of their own species, as these birds had no opportunity of hearing
any other notes than those of the poultry on the premises. As the spring
advanced, the males became very pugnacious, and great contests took place
between themselves, as well as with the Pigeons and the young poultry that
occasionally intruded on their domicile. In May the hens commenced laying,
both in one nest, and the eggs were hatched under a Domestic Hen."
Dr. Bachmann was prevented carrying out his experiments further, but other
observers have been more fortunate, and have without trouble reared many
of these delicate birds in closed rooms. Their great fertility is very
favourable to their increase, wherever it is wished that they should be
naturalised.
Several attempts have been made to introduce this species into England,
and from time to time specimens have been shot in different parts of the
country.
The American Partridge is easily caught by means of snares and traps of
various descriptions. Many are shot, but they are most frequently netted
in the following manner:--A number of persons, furnished with a net, ride
along the fences and thickets where the birds resort, one of the party
simulating the call of the bird, which is soon answered by a covey; the
party approach in an apparently careless manner to ascertain the position
and number of the others; and then a horseman furnished with a net gallops
a hundred yards in advance, and places it so that his companions can drive
the Partridges into it. In this manner fifteen or twenty Partridges may be
caught at one driving, but a pair out of each flock usually receive their
liberty for fear that the breed should be destroyed.
* * * * *
The CALIFORNIAN PARTRIDGE (_Lophortyx Californianus_) and GAMBEL'S
PARTRIDGE (_Lophortyx Gambelii_) represent an American group principally
remarkable for the crest that adorns their head. These birds have a
powerful body, short neck, and moderately large head. The short arched
wing is rounded at its extremity, and has its fourth or fifth quills
longer than the rest. The tail, composed of twelve feathers, is short and
remarkably graduated; the beak is short, strong, and much arched at its
culmen; the foot is of medium height, and the thick plumage compact and
glossy. At the top of the head rises a crest, formed occasionally of from
two to ten, but generally of from four to six feathers; these are slender
at the roots, becoming gradually broader towards the tips, which incline
forward, and have somewhat the form of a sickle. This crest is much
developed in the males. The coloration of the plumage, though by no means
gorgeous, is both beautiful and brilliant.