Partridges Paired
The partridges were close by the road. They rose from the back of the hedge and whirred off across the field, swinging over the fence and changing direction as they followed the contour of the ground. They were paired. A month ago there was a covey in the locality, a com- pact little group of birds feeding together, roosting close to each other and relying on the awareness of the group to preserve each one. The battles have finished. The fight for mates has taken place, the harrying and mock ferocity are over, although months will pass before the mated pair nest and raise a new covey. Habits of the greater part of a year are at an end. Now the pair will feed together, and explore the fields, the gorse-hills and the bramble-patches, while the cultivators finish their work and hay begins to grow. Until late spring or early summer the call of the partridge will be heard rarely. It will be harvest-time before the coveys are visible.
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