Partridges. [image 734x695 pixels 75]

“Partridges in vast plenty are bred in good seasons on the verge of this forest [the forest of Wolmer, mostly in the parish of Selborne], into which they love to make excursions; and in particular, in the dry summers of 1740 and 1741, and some years after, they swarmed to such a degree that parties of unreasonable sportsmen killed twenty and sometimes thirty brace in a day.” (pp 17, 18)

A partridge was once a traditional bird to eat roasted at Christmas, or so one might conclude from the famous song, A partridge in a pear tree.

I made a partridge wallpaper version of this engraving, too.

Partridges. details