Ground Nests
Birds on the whole suffered rather less than one feared ; but very melancholy accounts come from some of the grouse moors exposed to the north east. This hostile wind (so loudly praisel, one hopes truthfully, by Charles Kingsley) has enjoyed a continuous run as long as any in the records, and it blew strongly on the night of the worst frost. Many clutches perished. In one Scottish garden three clutches of young robins perished ; but in England small birds did not suffer at all, if I may judge from the nests of larks (and of the sandpiper) within my own experience. On the subject of the partridge a real if small discovery has been made at the very ingenious partridge farm organized by the I.C.I. The partridge is apt to lay more eggs than she ought ; and as many as 17 young may be hatched, thanks to the aid given by the cock bird. Such a family is too large and a percentage of the chicks become weaklings, develop maladies and perish. It is now decided that a dozen is the limit. The parents cannot bring up more ; and all keepers are advised to remove all the excess over a dozen and make separate clutches out of them. By this means healthier birds and more of them
may easily be bred. * *
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