Redhawk Caldera you can make me whole again

Had he needed to, Shrike would have moved forward to resume tracking if Eljay strayed from the trail, but his nose led him in the right direction and they found more signs of avian life. As he had Eljay relying on his sense of smell, Shrike lifted his head a bit to use his eyes in picking out the brown, earthy tones of partridge feathers. A bit more difficult this time of year, as they matched their surroundings quite well, but he caught the stiffness in the youth's movement and as soon as the boy halted, Shrike caught sight of what he'd been looking for. He could see one, but couldn't tell whether there were more hiding or not. Likely there were- they seemed to like to hide in groups. 

He nodded to Eljay, but rather than moving away to corner the birds, he stayed right by Eljay's side. For an animal that lived on the ground like a rabbit, that would have been a choice technique, as most animals would zig zag to try and avoid being caught by one wolf, only to run into the clutches of another. Birds, however, tended to go straight up- so it wouldn't matter what angle he took as his approach. He grinned at the boy, then, and crouched, readying his legs beneath him. He checked out Eljay, to make sure he was ready, before he crouched down a bit further, and and flicked an ear to get the boy's attention. He then flattened both ears and bolted forward. 

Two partridges took off in a flutter of feathers and cooing sounds, beating their wings against the ground at first in an attempt to get into the air as soon as possible. Both had reached an altitude of two or three feet by the time gathered himself to jump, and he sprang into the air, clamping his teeth down on the tail feathers of one of the partridges. He held on tight to the bird when he hit the ground again, but the jarring movement caused the bird's tail feathers to pull free, and before Shrike could snap at it again, the partridge had taken flight again. "Get'im!" Shrike shouted happily, hoping maybe that Eljay could get a better hold on it.