Country diary 1951: Courting partridges top the entertainment bill | Birds

PENRITH: Three days of fair weather, with several hours of bright sunshine, and the disappearance of most of the snow except from high ground may help to confirm the tradition that the birds begin to mate on St Valentine’s Day. Like many other old sayings this one is of the “hitty-missy” kind, dependent largely upon the state of the weather at the time. But even during the harsh weather of the past few weeks some pairs of blackbirds in the garden have been playing “tiggy” among the berry bushes – indicative of early mating.

For the onlookers partridges top the entertainment bill when they set out courting. The technique is nearly always the same. On the lee side of a “quick” fence the male bird makes his advances by chasing his prospective spouse, but she seems in no hurry to become engaged and evades him with the dexterity of a rugby footballer. Then (seemingly) he gets tired of pursuing this female will-o’-the-wisp and retries sheepishly, pecking the ground as though mating were the last thing in his thoughts. But this indifference does not suit the female, and she follows to within range of a renewed attack. The performance may be repeated for an hour or so, until both get tired of make-believe and strut away together.