Tetrao Perdrix, LINNÆUS; La Perdrix grise, BUFFON; Das gemeine
Rebhuhn, BECHSTEIN.
This well known bird, which is very fleshy, and has but few feathers,
measures twelve inches and a half. Its beak is bluish, the feet brownish
blush red; under each eye is a naked skin of a bright scarlet colour;
the general colour of the plumage is brown and ash grey, mixed with
black; the forehead, a streak above the eyes, and the throat, are fine
chestnut brown; the fore part of the neck and the breast are ash grey,
with very fine black lines; below the breast is a deep chestnut brown
streak in the shape of a horse shoe, which is not found in the female,
or at least not so large nor so clearly defined; the quill-feathers are
dusky, with cross bands of rust red; the tail-feathers are rust brown.
HABITATION.--The common partridge is found throughout Europe, in
fields and adjoining woods: when in the open country, thickets and
bushes serve as a retreat during the night. In wide plains, where the
frosts are severe, and the snow so deep that the game is in danger of
perishing, it is customary, in winter, to catch in a net as many as
possible of these birds, and keep them in a warmed room with a high
ceiling. If such a room cannot be had, the top of the room and
windows should be hung with cloth, to prevent the frightened birds
from injuring themselves.
FOOD.--In the house, when permitted to range, partridges may be fed on
barley and wheat. They will also eat bread, the common universal
paste, cabbage, beet, and lettuce; for they like green vegetables,
and these are almost indispensable to their health. In a state of
liberty, they generally feed in winter on the tops of grass and young
springing seeds. In the summer, they eat clover and other green
plants, as well as all kinds of grain. They often roll in moist sand,
which they should be allowed to do in the house.
BREEDING.--The best way to domesticate the partridge, is to rear it
young, in which case it becomes extremely tame, and its habits are
very pleasing. These young birds must be fed at first on ants' eggs
and hens' eggs boiled hard and chopped up with salad; afterwards they
will eat barley and other dry food. The covey often consists of
twenty young ones, which follow the mother as soon as they are
hatched, and often fall in the way of mowers, shepherds, and
huntsmen. I am persuaded that it would not be difficult to render
these birds quite domestic, if the eggs were hatched by our barn-door
fowls, in an open, yet enclosed place, clipping the wings of the
young ones, allowing them to range, during the summer, in a garden
surrounded with walls, and giving them plenty of food. Supposing that
this plan did not quite succeed the first summer, one would have at
least half-tamed birds, which, by following the same plan, would
gradually become more and more accustomed to domestic food, the
society of man, and would certainly at last breed in the house, like
our common fowls.