field over: it then alighted on the ground, when a pair of Partridges were seen running away from the Owl, when the Owl flew and attacked one of them, but after a few seconds the Partridge got away, the Owl pursuing it on the wing for a short distance. After this the Owl came and hovered over the baited trap, and whilst doing so was shot. I always thought that these Owls only preyed on rats, mice, larks, etc., but I now believe they destroy game." On dissection the Owl proved to be a male, and the stomach was empty.—J.H. Gurney (Northrepps Hall, Norwich).
Partridges Coloured like Red Grouse.—At a recent meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow Mr. Harvie Brown exhibited two extremely handsome varieties of the Common Partridge (Perdix cinerea), forwarded to him by Mr. George Sim, naturalist, Aberdeen. These birds, along with four others, were shot by General Shaw, on the estate at Glasshaugh, near Portsoy, in the beginning of October last. They had been seen in different covers for some weeks before being killed, and since then the people in the neighbourhood reported to General Shaw that similar birds had been seen in previous years about the same neighbourhood. Mr. Sim says that the females, of which there were four, were all alike in plumage, being brown on the breast, while the upper parts are beautifully marked with transverse bars of light brown over a ground colour of drab—the brown being of greater density in some individuals than in others. The male differs markedly from the female, having a preponderance of the rich grouse-like chestnut-brown on the back, as well as on the breast. Mr. Sim had compared these birds with the description and plate of Perdix cinerea, var. montana, in the 'Naturalist's Library' (vol. iv. pi. 2), and found them to agree with that variety, which Sir William Jardine states is common on the plains of the Zuyder Zee in Holland. Mr. Harvie Brown observed that examples of the same variety had been found on the higher grounds of Forfarshire bordering the moors, and often among the heather, where they are known as "Hill Partridges" (see Gray's 'Birds of the West of Scotland,' p. 242). He suggested that the variation had been induced by food, looking at the almost perfect grouse-like colour, especially of the male; but added that if these birds are identical with Sir W. Jardine's var. montana, it would be difficult to account for the variety arising from food supply when it is found upon the low-lying flats of Holland, and he was at a loss to know why it was named montana, unless it was discovered in a more mountainous country than Holland, where the summit of the highest hills are only some thirty feet above the level of the sea. These two birds weighed 13½ and 15 ounces respectively. Extent of wings, in both, 19½ inches; bill to the point of tail, 12½ inches.[1]
[Mr. Harvie Brown seems to have misunderstood his author. Sir William Jardine in the work quoted does not say that this variety is "common on the plains of the Zuyder Zee," but speaking of the variation
- ↑ This unsigned note was written by John Alexander Harvie-Brown; see also: p. 256 (Wikisource-ed.)
