The population of partridges (Perdix perdix) in 1933 and 1934 in Great Britain.

Abstract

This paper is a comparative review of the population of partridges in 1933 and 1934, the period over which the present investigation has so far continued. This work forms part of a scheme of research on game populations carried out in the Bureau of Animal Population, Oxford University, with the aid of a grant from Imperial Chemical Industries.

During 1931 and 1932 the partridge population was greatly reduced by an outbreak of disease due to the parasitic worm (Trichostrongylus tenuis (1)). This was especially prevalent in the densely stocked areas of Hampshire and East Anglia where the birds had reached a very high density as a result of two favourable seasons in 1929 and 1930. It seems reasonable to regard 1932 as a minimum point in the periodic fluctuation which has been shown to exist in partridge numbers (2), and on this assumption it seemed probable that 1933 and 1934 would show a general increase in numbers. The records of nests, counts, and numbers killed which are given in this paper are published through the courtesy of estate owners, shooting men and keepers, without whose help such work would be impossible. Many owners do not like to have their names or the names of their estates published, so I have referred to all of them throughout by the index letter and number used in the files of the Bureau, together with the name of the county in which the estate is situated. In some cases the records refer to one part rather than the whole of a very large estate.