Vinyl D-rib (original: brown embroidery thread) Brown thread (1 length (rib))
Seal fur (or substitute) mixed with red fox belly fur Amber + cream, mixed ~50/50 (2-3 noodles (body and thorax))
Hungarian partridge Natural gray/brown hungarian partridge (1 small feather (legs))
How to tie it
Lay a base of rusty brown thread to the start of the bend.
Tie in just three pheasant tail fibers for a long, sparse tail (twist them in your fingers if they cling together); trim the butts.
Tie in the vinyl D-rib at the FRONT of the shank and bind it along the top toward the rear, keeping the underbody smooth. Stop a rib's width short of the tail so the first dubbing wrap can sit behind it.
Wax the thread and dub the amber seal/fox blend in two noodles up the rear two-thirds of the shank, getting a slight taper if you can; trim wild fibers.
Spiral the rib forward in evenly spaced turns, tie off, and trim the vinyl at an angle to minimize the step-down.
Tie in 10-12 pheasant tail fibers butts-forward at the two-thirds point, checking there's enough width for the wingcase before locking down.
Tie in a small partridge feather flat on top with its tip pointing forward over the eye; snip the stem.
Dub a thicker noodle of the same blend for the thorax.
Fold the partridge back over the thorax, pluck out fibers until the leg count looks right, and let them splay to the sides; pull the pheasant tail wingcase over the top, tie down, and trim close.
Build a small head, whip finish, cement, and trim any wild seal fibers.