Gould observed 'There is perhaps no one of our game birds that gives more pleasure to the sportsman than the Partridge does,..... the Grouse, which principally inhabits the northern portion of the British Islands, is annually becoming more scarce, and the Partridge [is] encroaching upon the lands from which the Grouse has been driven by the process of clearing and cultivation.'

In the illustration the male is depicted behind the female. The plant is Bladder Campion Silene inflata.

DISTRIBUTION: Widespread throughout Eurasia (partly through introductions) from British Isles and south Scandinavia east to Kirghiz steppes, west Mongolia, and west China, and south to north Mediterranean region through to Turkey and Iran. Introduced also to Canada and northern United States