2
And partridges, cf.Moralia, 971 c-d; Aelian, op. cit., iii. 16; Aristotle, Historia Animalium, ix. 8 (613 b 17); scholia on Aristophanes, Birds, 768. when, accompanied by their young, they are being pursued, allow the fledglings to fly ahead and attempt to escape, and contrive to fix the hunter’s attention on themselves by wheeling close and, when they are almost captured, fly off and away, then again remain at rest and place themselves within the reach of the hunter’s hope, until, by so exposing themselves to danger for their nestlings’ safety, they have led on the hunters to a considerable distance.
2
And we have before our eyes every day the manner in which hens cf. Aristotle, op. cit., ix. 8 (613 b 15); Anthologia Palatina, ix. 95. care for their brood, drooping their wings for some to creep under, and receiving with joyous and affectionate clucks others that mount upon their backs or run up to them from every direction; and though they flee from dogs and snakes if they are frightened only for themselves, if their fright is for their children, they stand their ground and fight it out beyond their strength.
