>

 The likelihood of finding a partridge [ˋpɑ tridʒ] in a pear tree is slim. The word comes to us from the Greek perdix, which meant “to break wind,” likely referring to the sound of a bird’s wings. Link

According to Greek legend, the first partridge appeared when Daedalus threw his nephew, Perdix (Brisson, 1760), off the sacred hill of Athena in a fit of jealous rage. Supposedly mindful of his fall, the bird does not build its nest in the trees, nor take lofty flights and avoids high places.

>