dds, if it had
not been that she knew that the eggs were already chipping she would in
all probability have deserted her post for good and all.

Whether or not France is to be regarded as the original home of the "red
leg," the fact remains that in that country it is becoming scarcer every
year, its numbers being maintained only in Brittany, Calvados, Orne, and
Sarthe. Its distribution in Italy is equally capricious, for it is
virtually restricted to the rocky slopes of the Apennines, the
Volterrano Hills in Tuscany, and the coast ranges of Elba. It seems
therefore that in Continental countries, as well as with us, the bird
extends its range reluctantly. Game-preservers seem, however, to agree
that partridges and pheasants are, beyond a certain point, incompatible
as, with a limited supply of natural food, the smaller bird goes to the
wall. Like most birds, partridges grow bold when pressed by cold and
hunger, and I recollect hearing of a large covey being encountered ten
or twelve years ago in an open space in the heart of the city of
Frankfort.

OCTOBER

THE MOPING OWL

THE MOPING OWL

Music, vocal or otherwise, is always a matter of taste, and individual
appreciation of birdsong varies like the rest. One man finds the
cuckoo's cry intolerably wearisome. Another sees no romance in the
gargling of doves, while comparatively few care for the piercing scream
of the starling or the rasping note of the corncrake. Yet few birds
perform to a more hostile audience than the owl. I say advisedly "the
owl," since the vast majority of people make no distinction whatever
between our three resident kinds of owl, not to mention at least half a
dozen more visitors. Some excuse for such carelessness might perhaps be
found in the similar flight and habits of different owls, but it might
have been thought that greater measure of individual recognition on
their own merits would have been conceded to birds that range in size
from the dimensions of a sparrow to those of a duck. But no; an owl is
just an owl. Why the soft and haunting cry of these birds should not
merely displease, but actually alarm, so many people unaccustomed to
such sounds of the gloaming and darkness it would be difficult to say;
but the voice of owls may possibly owe some of its disturbing effect to
contrast with their silent flight, which, thanks to their fluffy
plumage, with its broad quills and long barbs, prevents their making
much more noise