PARTRIDGE MORTALITY
[To the Editor,of THE SPECTA.T011.1 Sia,—.The suggestion in your " Country Life " columnSthat Young partridges M time of drought. perish from lack of insect food is one of those hoary natural history myths, which, like the myth of the pugnacity of old greyhens, survives, not by Yirtlae of its truth, but merely by reason of constant repetition and copying of one authority by another equally uncritical. Careful examination of a few square yards of. ground, even in the driest English summer, will reveal a wealth of insect life, and ants, the partridges' main insect food, are as plentiful in dry seasons as- in Wet ones. When young par- tridges die. it is either from lack of drinking water or, much more commonly, from the attacks of the many parasites and bacteria to which game birds are peculiarly susceptible. It is noteworthy, also, that there are recorded instances of partridges nesting virtually in mid-winter and, aided by a mild spell of weather, rearing a fair proportion of their brood. The supply of insect life accessible to partridges even in the mildest winter is far less than exists during the severest summer drought.
• It is worm, not insect-eating, birds to' which drought sometimes brings famine.—Yours very truly,
72 St. James's Court,• S.1V.1. TAVISTOCE.
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