Partridges are tolerably plentiful in nearly all parts of Great Britain, where cultivation has smoothed the rugged features of the landscape; for, unlike the Grouse, which retreat as man advances further and further into the wilds of nature, these birds seldom go far from the farm and the home plantations. Coveys, as the family parties are called, are sometimes met with on the edges of moors, and they often wander, as Mr. Morris tells us, to wastes and commons; but their home is not there; the clover, turnip, grass, or stubble field is their cover and resting-place; there, and in the coppice and along the hedge-row they feed, and build their nests, if the placing a few loose straws in a hole scratched in the ground can be called building; there they lay their eggs, generally ten or twelve in number, although sometimes more, and of a uniform pale greenish brown colour. Early in the spring, from the first to the middle of February, may the not unpleasing call--_chicurr, chicurr_--of these birds be heard; and towards the end of May, or the beginning of June, the nest will most likely be quite finished. The hen bird alone sits, the male keeping watch, and, when the covey are hatched, assisting to feed and protect them from their numerous foes. The chicks run directly they are out of the shell, frequently with portions of it sticking to them; they are very lively and nimble, and so escape many dangers. But one brood is reared in the year, unless the first eggs are taken, in which case others will be laid, and the work of incubation recommenced, although the eggs will be less in number, and the young, it is said, weaker. It is related by Mr. Jesse, as a curious fact, that "when young Partridges are hatched, and have left the nest, the two portions of the shell will be found placed one within the other." We have observed this in eggs of the Common Fowl, and believe with the above-named naturalist that it is done by the chicks themselves, in their efforts to escape from their confinement. QUAIL. COMMON OR WANDERING QUAIL. FIGURE 30. The Quail can scarcely be called a common bird with us, although it may be found occasionally in various parts of both England and Ireland, and sometimes, though very rarely, in Scotland. It is migratory, generally arriving in May and departing in September; some few remain throughout the year, and scraping together a few bits of dry grass, clover, or straw, make a rude nest in a hollow place on the ground, and there deposit their eggs, which are of a yellowish, greenish, or reddish white, blotched and speckled with brown. They vary in number from six to fourteen, and even, it is said, twenty; the most common number is ten. The period of incubation is about three weeks; the young, like Partridges, run as soon as hatched.