Partridges
Jun. 13th, 2019 08:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloWe'd never seen partridges before- at least not close up, waddling round the front garden. They were the red legged variety- which is non-native and bred in bulk for shooting. I've no idea where they blew in from. "They came because we've been planting pear trees," I said.
Actually partridges prefer not to sit in trees. They're ground nesting birds. And only fly under pressure- like when a covey of hoorays is blasting away at them with shotguns. There are those who say the text of the Christmas carol is corrupt but I think the writer was perfectly aware of the nesting habits of partridges and- as with the rest of the poem- indulging in a little mild surrealism.
Actually partridges prefer not to sit in trees. They're ground nesting birds. And only fly under pressure- like when a covey of hoorays is blasting away at them with shotguns. There are those who say the text of the Christmas carol is corrupt but I think the writer was perfectly aware of the nesting habits of partridges and- as with the rest of the poem- indulging in a little mild surrealism.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-13 09:41 pm (UTC)I've wondered for years if there was some piece of forgotten slang behind the partridge in a pear tree, or perhaps just a clueless city-dweller writing the lyrics.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-14 07:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-14 09:39 pm (UTC)