Chapter XVI: Part 16

The JAPANESE PHEASANT (_Phasianus versicolor_) has the head green and the upper part of the neck shaded with blue; the nape and entire under side are dark green, deepening to pale black at the sides and centre of the belly; the mantle-feathers are blackish green, surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped line of reddish yellow, edged with rust-red; the feathers of the upper wing and tail covers are blueish greyish green; the quills brownish grey, with light stripes; and the tail-feathers reddish grey, marked with black. The eye is light brown, the beak whitish grey, and the foot light brownish grey. The male is twenty-seven inches long and twenty-nine broad; the wing measures eight and the tail fifteen inches. The plumage of the hen differs from that of all the species above-mentioned, her feathers having a dark green centre, surrounded by a broad light brownish grey or light yellow border.

These Pheasants are natives of Japan. In 1840 a pair of them were purchased by the Earl of Derby, of which the male only arrived at Knowsley; and from this bird and a female of the Common Pheasant have been derived the Green Pheasants, now so numerous in England. In form, habits, and disposition, this species resembles the Common Pheasant more nearly than the _Phasianus torquatus_, and has less disposition to wander.

SOEMMERRING'S PHEASANT.

SOEMMERRING'S PHEASANT (_Phasianus Soemmerringii_) is also known under the name of _Graphephasianus_, on account of its superior length of tail. The plumage of this species is principally copper-red, almost all the feathers having light borders; the centres of the upper wing and breast feathers are blackish brown; those on the rump have their rounded tips edged with golden yellow; the quills are brown, bordered with a paler tint; the eye is yellow, the beak horn-grey, the foot lead-grey. The hen is copper-red, marked with black, each feather edged with grey of various shades; those on the thighs are striped pale red and black; the quills are greyish brown, lightly bordered; the tail-feathers reddish, streaked with black and marked with deep brown; the throat and centre of the belly are light, and the lower belly dark grey.

This Pheasant, with which we became first acquainted through Dr. Siebold and Temminck, received its name from the latter, in honour of Professor Soemmerring, a distinguished naturalist.

Since the year 1860 the living bird has been brought to Europe, and those in the Zoological Gardens, London, produced a brood in June, 1865.

"The female," says Mr. Bartlett, "laid about ten eggs, but only three or four birds were hatched, and these died. The _Phasianus Soemmerringii_ at the Antwerp Gardens also bred, but we are unable to say if the young arrived at maturity. In both places the males exhibited a strong inclination to destroy the females, and we come to the conclusion that the species is ill-adapted to breed in captivity."

REEVES' PHEASANT.

REEVES' PHEASANT (_Phasianus Reevesii_, or _P. veneratus_) represents a group, called by Wagler _Syrmaticus_, remarkable for their great length of tail and unusually variegated plumage. In this species the top of the head, ear-tufts, and a broad line around the throat are pure white; the sides of the head and a wide band across the breast are black, the feathers on the mantle, rump, and upper breast are golden yellow, edged with black; those of the lower breast and side whitish grey, decorated with a slender heart-shaped line, broadly edged with brownish red, and those of the belly brownish black. The feathers of the upper wing-covers are blackish brown, bordered with two lighter shades of brown; the quills are striped golden yellow and brownish black; and the tail-feathers silver-grey, dotted with red spots, surrounded by a black line, and broadly bordered with golden yellow. The eye is reddish, the beak and foot greyish yellow. This species resembles the Silver Pheasant in its general size, but has a streaming tail about six feet in length.

Considerable confusion respecting the nomenclature of this remarkable bird has been occasioned by the late M. Temminck having, in his "Histoire Naturelle Generale des Pigeons et des Gallinacés," assigned its two lengthened tail-feathers to the old _Phasianus superbus_ of Linnæus, an error which he subsequently corrected, when describing and figuring this bird in his "Planches Colorées" as _P. veneratus_. M. Temminck's error was adopted by Dr. Latham; and hence, while the description of the Barred-tail Pheasant, in his "General History of Birds" (Vol. VIII., p. 190), has reference to the old _P. superbus_, some of his remarks apply to the present species. It is probable that the bird did not escape the notice of the celebrated Marco Polo, since he states "there be plenty of Feysants and very great, for 1 of them is as big as 2 of ours, with Tayles of eygth, nine, and ten spannes long, from the kingdom of Erguyl or Arguill, the western side of Tartary;" but we question if he ever saw more than the central tail-feathers, which, being held in great estimation, were considered to be suitable presents to foreigners, and hence these feathers found their way to Europe many years before the entire bird. Through Mr. Reeves, after whom this species was named by Dr. Gray, we obtained the sight of the skin of a male, and afterwards some parts of a female. He also brought a female in 1838, and both were living in the Zoological Gardens at the same time, but did not breed. Another, brought from China in 1862, lived at Mr. Kelk's seat, near Edgware, among other Pheasants, at perfect liberty and in excellent health, for two years. Since the Chinese War, living examples have successfully bred in more than one menagerie, both in England and on the Continent.

"The successful introduction of the living birds now in this country," says Mr. Tegetmeier, in the _Field_ for June 7, 1867, "is owing to the combined efforts of Mr. John J. Stone, and Mr. Walter Medhurst, H.M. Consul at Hankow."

Latham saw at Sir Joseph Banks's some drawings taken from a curious collection of ancient porcelain, representing a sham-fight on the water for the Emperor's amusement, supposed to be between his Tartarian and Chinese subjects, personated by the females of his seraglio, the chieftains of the former having one of the barred feathers of this species on each side of the bonnet, and the opponents, or Chinese, having two feathers of a Pheasant of a smaller kind, probably a Golden one; hence he concludes that the present bird is a native of Tartary, and not unlikely to be as common there as the other is in China.

Dr. Bennett, in his "Wanderings in New South Wales," writes as follows:--"In Mr. Beale's splendid aviary and gardens at Macao, the beautiful _Phasianus veneratus_ of Temminck, or _P. Reevesii_ of Gray, now commonly known by the name of Reeves' Pheasant, was seen. It is the Che Kai of the Chinese. The longest tail-feathers of this bird are six feet in length, and are placed in the caps of the players when acting military characters. This I observed in Canton, where some of the beautiful tail-feathers (rather in a dirty condition, like the actors themselves, who in their tawdry dresses reminded me of the sweeps in London on a May-day) were placed erect on each side of their caps as a decoration. The Chinese do not venerate this bird, as was at first supposed, and which may have caused Temminck to bestow upon it the name of _Veneratus_, but it is superstitiously believed that the blood is possessed of poisonous properties, and that the mandarins, when in expectation of losing their rank and being suddenly put to death by order of the Emperor, preserve some of it upon a handkerchief in a dried state, on sucking which they fall down and instantly expire."

Mr. Beale's first male specimen, obtained in 1801, was kept in a healthy state for thirteen years. After its death he endeavoured to procure others, but did not succeed until 1831, when four specimens were brought from the interior and purchased by him for 130 dollars. These were, I believe, subsequently taken to England by Mr. Reeves.

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The GOLDEN PHEASANTS (_Thaumalea_) are distinguishable from the birds above described by the comparatively small size of their bodies, their slender forms, bushy crest, and very long tail. The neck of the male is adorned with a remarkable collar of feathers that covers the nape, and is broadest under the chin.

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT.

The GOLDEN PHEASANT (_Thaumalea picta_) is most gorgeously apparelled, with a bright golden crest upon its head, and a rich orange-red collar, in which each feather is edged with deep velvety black; the feathers of the mantle are golden green, bordered with black, those on the lower back and upper tail-covers bright yellow, and those on the face, chin, and sides of throat whitish yellow. The lower neck and under side are a deep saffron-yellow, the wing-covers chestnut-brown, the quills greyish brown, edged with rust-red, the shoulder-feathers dark blue, with light borders, and most of those of the tail decorated with a black network tracery; the long, centre feathers of the upper covers are dark red, the eye is golden yellow, the beak whitish yellow, and the foot brownish. The male is thirty-two inches long and twenty-five broad, the wing measures eight and the tail twenty-two inches. The plumage of the hen is deep rust-red above, shading on the under side into a mixture of red, grey, and yellow; the feathers on the top of the head, throat, and sides, upper secondaries, and centre tail-feathers are striped brownish yellow and black, and the side tail-feathers brown, marked with yellowish grey. A very similar species lately discovered, and called _Thaumalea obscura_, is distinguishable from the above species, which in other respects it closely resembles, by the comparative darkness of its plumage during all its various changes, and by the inferior length of the tail-feathers.

The Golden Pheasant inhabits Southern Tauria and the eastern part of the desert of Mongolia, advancing in summer up to the Amoor, and also the provinces of Kansu and Setschun in the interior of China, whence, Mr. Swinhoe tells us, living examples are brought into Canton for sale. Latham says that this bird is called in China _Kinki_, or _Kinkee_, which signifies Gold-flower Fowl, or Wrought Fowl. It is a hardy bird, and many pairs have been turned loose in our own country with the hope of naturalising it, but unfortunately they have all been shot. According to Gould it bears confinement well, and breeds freely. The sexes change considerably in appearance, and some hens kept for six years by Lady Essex gradually assumed the male feathers.

LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT.

The LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT (_Thaumalea Amherstiæ_) is a very beautiful bird, having a black and red plume upon its head. The feathers that form the collar are of a silvery hue, with dark edges; the plumage of the neck, upper back, and upper wing-covers is light golden green, bordered with a deeper tint; and that of the lower back shaded golden yellow. The feathers of the upper tail-covers are pale red, spotted and lined with black, those on the under side pure white; the quills are brownish grey, edged with a lighter tint on the outer web; the centre tail-feathers are whitish grey, striped with black and edged with yellow, the rest are brownish grey; the lancet-shaped feathers at the sides of the upper tail-covers are coral-red, the bare patches on the cheeks blue, and the eye golden yellow; the beak is pale, and the foot dark yellow.

This species was first described by Mr. B. Leadbeater, in a paper read before the Linnæan Society, December 2nd, 1828, and received from him its name in honour of the Countess of Amherst, to whom two males of the species had been presented by Sir Archibald Campbell, who received them from the King of Ava. They came originally from the mountains of Cochin China, and only survived the voyage to England a few weeks.

"It is now believed," says Mr. Gould, "that the bird is an inhabitant of the Chinese province of Yunnan and the adjoining region of Thibet." We have no account of its mode of life or habits.

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The EARED PHEASANTS (_Crossoptilon_), are so called on account of the remarkable tufts of feathers, resembling those of some Owls, situated at the sides of the head. They are also distinguishable from the members of the family already described by their very powerful build and comparatively short tail, the feathers at the extremity of which are discomposed, and overhang the rest.

THE CHINESE EARED PHEASANT.

The CHINESE EARED PHEASANT (_Crossoptilon auritum_) has the throat and a line that passes from thence to the ear of pure white; the somewhat lax plumage on the head, the nape, upper breast, and back are black, and the mantle-feathers light brownish grey; the rump is yellowish white, and the under side pale greyish yellow; the quills and tail-feathers are yellowish grey, with a dark border to the outer web; the streaming feathers on the upper covers are greyish black. The hen is somewhat smaller than her mate, and has the long feathers less developed.

We are without particulars as to the life and habits of this Pheasant. Lamprey tells us he observed it in the markets of Pekin, and heard that it is found on the mountains to the north of that town. M. Armand David also met with it in July, 1863, in the northern valley of a high mountain, fifteen leagues to the west of Pekin, and was told that it is called Ho-ki, or Gho-ky, by the Chinese. When placed in an aviary these birds soon become gentle and familiar. In their wild state they frequent well-wooded spots on mountains; they perch readily, and carry their tails after the fashion of the Domestic Fowl; their somewhat varied call also much resembles the voice of that bird. The crops of three specimens killed in July were filled with the leaves of _cytisus;_ and those examined in winter contained nuts, kernels, leaves of mugwort, ferns, roots, orchids, coleoptera, worms, and caterpillars. In a paper contributed to the _Zoological Society's Proceedings_ for July, 1866, Mr. Saurin informs us that the hen lays at the end of May; the eggs are larger than those of a Common Fowl, and of a blueish tint. The Chinese rear these Pheasants on a kind of millet-cake; they are also very fond of barley. In 1866 two males of this species were presented to the London Zoological Gardens, and in the same year two hens were purchased from the Jardin d'Acclimatisation of Paris; since that time they have produced several broods, which have been hatched by a Domestic Hen.

THE ARGUS PHEASANT, OR KUAU.

The ARGUS PHEASANT, or KUAU (_Argus giganteus_). This magnificent species has the feathers on the upper and primary quills unusually prolonged, and broad at the tips; their shafts are soft, and the web of firm, stiff texture; the secondaries, on the contrary, are very short. The moderately long beak is compressed at its sides, slightly vaulted, bare at its base, and hooked at its tip; the long weak foot is without a spur; the tail, composed of twelve feathers, is very long and much graduated, the two centre feathers far exceeding the rest in length; the sides of the head and throat are bare, with the exception of a few black hairs; the brow, top of the head, and back of the head, on the contrary, are covered with a growth of small velvety feathers. The coloration of the plumage is more remarkable for the delicacy of its markings than for the brilliancy of its hues. The short feathers on the crown are deep black, those on the back of the neck striped yellow, and those on the nape and upper back brown, marked and dotted with light yellow. The yellowish brown feathers on the centre of the back are yellowish grey, with round dark brown patches; those on the under side striped and marked with reddish brown, black, and light yellow. The outer web of the secondary quills is entirely greyish red, thickly dotted with spots of shaded brown, whilst the inner web is marked with delicate white dots at its base. The long feathers of the upper wing-covers are of a beautiful dark reddish brown, marked with pale greyish red, dark brown, and yellowish white streaks of tracery, and enlivened by large lustrous round spots or eyes. These eyes are situated on the outer web, and are more perceptible upon the feathers of the second order than on the shoulder. The longest tail-feathers are black, the shafts grey on the inner and reddish brown on the outer side; both sides of the web are decorated with a white spot, surrounded by a black edge; the exterior tail-feathers are similarly coloured, and have their numerous spots placed in rows. Rosenberg tells us that the head and bare parts of the throat are light greyish blue, and the feet red. This fine bird is from five and a half to six feet long; of this measurement four feet are included in the tail. The length of the real wing is seventeen inches: that of its longest feather twenty-eight inches and a half. The hen is much smaller and more quiet in appearance. The feathers on her head are striped black and yellow; those on the upper breast and nape are of a fine reddish brown, marked with black; those on the other parts of the back striped brownish yellow and black; the under side is light brown, with undulating black and yellow lines; the primary quills are brown marbled with black; and the feathers on the upper and lower covers dark reddish brown, marked in a similar manner with a lighter shade.

ITHAGINIS CORIENTES ____ SANGUINE FRANCOLIN

(_about one half Nat. size_)]

The Argus Pheasant is said to be found in the woods of Sumatra, and is called by the natives Coo-ow, or Kuaow. It does not bear long confinement, and seems to have an antipathy to the light, remaining inanimate during the day. When kept in a dark place, however, it appears to be perfectly at ease, and sometimes utters the note or call from which it takes its name. This cry is rather plaintive, and not harsh like that of the Peacock. The flavour of its flesh resembles that of the Common Pheasant.

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The PEACOCK PHEASANTS (_Polyplectron_) constitute a group forming the connecting link between the Argus Pheasants and the Peacocks. They have small, slender bodies; short, decidedly rounded wings, in which the fifth and sixth quills are the longest, and the feathers of the upper covers much prolonged; the tail is long, composed of twelve feathers, broad at its extremity and slightly graduated; the feathers on the upper covers closely resemble those beneath them in form, colour, and markings. The long, thin tarsus is armed with from two to six spurs, the toes are short, and the claws small; the moderate-sized beak is thin, straight, compressed at its sides, slightly curved towards the tip, and covered with feathers at its base. The plumage of the male is enlivened by numerous eyes upon the tail, and occasionally on the mantle and wing-covers.

THE CHINQUIS, OR ASSAM PEACOCK PHEASANT.

The CHINQUIS, or ASSAM PEACOCK PHEASANT (_Polyplectron chinquis_), the most beautiful of the four species of the above group with which we are acquainted, has the head of a greyish brown, delicately dotted and lined with black; the lower neck, breast, and centre of the belly are brown, striped with brownish black, and spotted with light yellow; the mantle-feathers are greyish yellow, marked with small greyish black lines; each feather being decorated with an ocellus having a green centre and glossy purple border; the feathers of the back, rump, and large tail-covers are pale brown, spotted and marked with brownish yellow, and have a similar green and purple spot, surrounded by a black rim. The eye is bright yellow and the foot black. This species is twenty-two inches long, but of these ten inches are included in the tail. The hen is distinguished by less showy plumage, the slight excrescences that replace the spurs upon her foot, and the shortness of her tail.

The countries of Assam, Silhet, Arucan, and Tenasserim, as far as Mergui, may be regarded as the habitat of this species, which received from Linnæus, who erroneously believed Thibet to be its native country, the name of the Thibet Peacock; and even now we are but little acquainted with its habits, owing to its shy disposition, and the preference it has for the innermost recesses of dense forests. In "Ornithognomon's" "Game Birds of India" is one of the most interesting of the few notices we possess. "I have never," says the writer, "shot this bird; and, indeed, only once came upon it. This was in a narrow path leading along a ridge about 3,000 feet above the sea, in the mountains on the British side of the Thoungyen River, which separates Tenasserim from Yohan in Siam. It started so suddenly, having apparently been dusting itself in the path, and shot so rapidly across the jungle, through the _kud_, that had it not left two or three of its feathers behind I should not have known what bird I had flushed. I am not aware of any English sportsman having ever bagged one of these Pheasants; and, indeed, it frequents such inaccessible places as effectually to defy approach. The mountains in the tropics rise to a height of six or eight thousand feet above the sea, and from 6,000 feet downwards are clothed with such a dense mass of trees, thickets, underwood, bamboos, and thorny rattans, all bound together by creepers and tangle, that it would be an hour's labour to cut any one's way through 100 yards of such stuff. I have, however," says the same writer, "kept these Peacock Pheasants in captivity, which they appear to bear tolerably well, but never become thoroughly tame. They were incessantly uttering a soft, low cluck, but emitted at times a cry or crow, being the same cluck loudly and rapidly repeated."

Two males of this species were sent by the Baba Rajendra Malhik to the London Zoological Gardens in 1857, and another pair in 1863, of which the female died; another female was obtained in 1864, which bred several times, and thus many particulars concerning their economy were learned. "Thus we know," says Mr. Sclater, "that two or three broods in a year are produced by the same pair, and are often covered by her tail, that the normal number of eggs is two, and that they are peculiarly delicate in form and colour, assimilating very closely to those of the Golden Pheasant (_Thaumalea picta_)--they are of a cream-colour, or buffy white, nearly two inches long, by one inch and seven-sixteenths broad."

Mr. Ellis, in his monograph on the _Phasianidæ_, states that Mr. Bartlett, superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, London, told him that the first time the young of this species were hatched in the Gardens, a Bantam Hen was employed as a foster mother, and the chicks would follow close behind her, never coming in front to take food, so that in scratching the ground she frequently struck them with her feet. The reason for the young keeping behind was not understood, until on a subsequent occasion two chicks were reared by a hen Chinquis, when it was observed that they always kept in the same manner behind the mother, who held her tail widely spread, thus completely covering them, and there they continually remained out of sight, only running forward when called by the hen to pick up some food she had found, and then immediately retreating to their shelter. It was thus rendered evident that the young, in following the Bantam Hen, were simply obeying the instincts of their nature, although the upright tail of their foster mother failed to afford them the protection which they would have found had they been reared by a female of their own species.

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The PEACOCKS (_Pavones_) are distinguished from all other members of their family by the superiority of their size, and the extraordinary development of the feathers of the upper tail-covers. Their bodies are powerful; the neck moderately long, head small, wings short, and legs high; the beak is strong, arched at its culmen and hooked at the tip; and the foot of the male is armed with a spur. The crown of the head is adorned with a crest, formed either of long and slender or short bearded feathers. The region of the eye is bare. These fine birds only attain their full beauty when three years old.

The Peacock is a native of the East Indies and Ceylon, and is represented in Assam, the Sunda Islands, and Japan by the _Pavo nigripennis_. All the members of this glorious group frequent woods and jungle, preferring mountainous districts. On the Neilgherries and mountains of Southern India the _Pavo cristatus_ is frequently met with at an altitude of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea; but it is not found in the Himalayas.

Williamson tells us that these splendid creatures abound chiefly in well-wooded localities, where there is an extent of long grass for them to range in. They are very thirsty birds, and will only remain where they can have free access to water. "About the passes in the Jungleterry districts," continues the same authority, "I have seen such quantities of Pea Fowls as have absolutely surprised me. Whole woods were covered with their beautiful plumage, to which a rising sun imparted additional brilliancy. The small patches of plain among the long grass, most of them cultivated, and with mustard then in bloom, which induced the birds to feed, added beauty to the scene; and I speak within bounds when I assert that there could not be less than twelve or fifteen hundred Pea Fowls of various sizes within sight of the spot where I stood for more than an hour." When on the wing they fly heavily, generally within an easy shot, but if only winged speedily recover, and if not closely pursued will nine times out of ten disappear. The capture of the Peacock is by no means a safe pursuit, for Williamson tells us that wherever that bird and the spotted deer abound the tiger will generally be a visitor; thus the borders of jungle containing such game are highly dangerous. At the season when the peepul berries and figs are in season their flesh is rather bitter; but when they have fed for a time among corn-fields, the flesh of the young is remarkably sweet and juicy. The nest is formed among thick shrubs or on high garden walls, or even on the roofs of houses. When the young are bred in an elevated situation, they are said to be carried to the ground by the parent on her back. The eggs, from four to six in number, are hatched within thirty days, and within three months of their birth the sex of the young is easily recognisable. When domesticated, the Peahen requires to be kept perfectly undisturbed during the period of incubation, or she will desert her little family.

THE COMMON PEACOCK.

The COMMON PEACOCK (_Pavo cristatus_) is of a magnificent purplish blue on the head, throat, and upper breast, overspread with glowing green and golden lustre; the green feathers on the back are edged and marked with copper-red; the centre of the back is deep blue, the wing white striped with black, and the under side black; the quills and tail are light brown; the long feathers of the latter, which form the graceful train that renders this bird so conspicuous, being decorated with numerous ocellated spots. The crest-feathers, from twenty to twenty-four in number, are bearded at their tips. The eye is dark brown, and the bare ring that surrounds it whitish; the beak and foot are greyish-brown. The length of this species is from three and a half to four feet; the wing measures eighteen and the tail twenty-four inches. The long train-feathers of the upper tail-covers are from four to four feet and a half in length. The female is nut-brown on the head and upper throat; the feathers on the nape are greenish, edged with whitish brown; those of the mantle light brown, marked with delicate lines; and those on the throat, breast, and belly white; the quills are brown, and the tail-feathers brown tipped with white. The hen is from thirty-six to thirty-eight inches long; her wing measures fifteen and tail from twelve to thirteen inches; her crest is much smaller and darker than that of her mate.

The general form of this magnificent bird is exceedingly elegant; and when he elevates and spreads his gorgeous train to the sun, displaying it in every way, as if conscious of the admiration he is exciting, the beholder is constrained to admit that there is no creature upon which Nature has lavished her powers of adornment with a more unsparing hand. The voice of the Peacock is extremely harsh and disagreeable, closely resembling in sound the word _paon_, which is its French name. The introduction of this bird into Europe is ascribed to Alexander the Great, but the exact date at which it was first imported into England is unknown.

This Pea-fowl inhabits the whole of India Proper, and is replaced in Assam and the countries to the east by another species. Jerdon tell us, "It frequents forests and jungly places, more especially delighting in hilly and mountainous districts; and in the more open and level country, wooded ravines and river banks are the never-failing resort of some of them. It comes forth to the open glades and fields to feed in the morning and evening, retiring to the jungles for shelter during the heat of the day, and roosting at night on high trees.

"During the courting season," says Jerdon, "the Peacock raises his tail vertically, and with it of course the lengthened train, spreading it out and strutting to captivate the hen birds; he has also the power of clattering the feathers in a most curious manner. It is a beautiful sight to come suddenly on twenty or thirty Pea fowl, the males displaying their gorgeous trains, and strutting about in all the pomp of pride before the gratified females. The train continues to increase in length for many years, at each successive moult, but it appears to be shed very irregularly." The breeding of the Pea-fowl in India varies, according to the locality, from April to October; the eggs, from four to eight or nine, are laid in a secluded spot.

"In Ceylon," writes Sir Emerson Tennant, "as we emerge from the deep shade and approach the park-like openings on the verge of the low country, numbers of Pea-fowl are to be found, either feeding on the seeds and fallen nuts among the long grass, or sunning themselves on the branches of the surrounding trees. Nothing to be met with in English demesnes can give an adequate idea of the size and magnificence of this matchless bird when seen in its native solitudes. Here he generally selects some projecting branch, from which his plumage may hang free of the foliage; and if there be a dead and leafeless bough, he is certain to choose it for his resting-place, whence he droops his wings and spreads his gorgeous train, or spreads it in the morning sun to drive off the damps and dews of night. In some of the unfrequented portions of the eastern province to which Europeans rarely resort, and where the Pea-fowl are unmolested by the natives, their number is so extraordinary that, regarded as game, it ceases to be sport to destroy them; and their cries at early dawn are so tumultuous and incessant as to banish sleep, and amount to an actual inconvenience."

The flesh is excellent when served up hot, though it is said to be indigestible; when cold it contracts a reddish and disagreeable tinge.

Among old English dishes for high festivals the Peacock at one time held a notable place, and a "Pecock enhakyl" (that is, with the feathers of the tail extended) is mentioned by Fabian as one of the second course dishes at the wedding-feast of Henry VI. In an old manuscript in the Library of the Royal Society is a receipt for the dressing of this noble dish:--"For a feste royal, Pecokkes schol be dight on this manere: Take and flee off the skin, with the fedures, tayle, and the neck and hed thereon. Then take the skynne and all the fedures, and lay hit on a tabel abrode, and straw thereon grounden comyn. Then take the Pecok and roste him, and endore him with rawe yolkes of eggs; and when he is rosted take hym off and let hym cole a whyle, and take and sowe him in his skynne, and gild his combe, and so serve him forthe with the last cours."

The flesh of the Peacock is said to be dry, but such a quality must have been amply compensated by the wholesale provision of sauce; as, according to an old play,[B] among other extravagances enumerated, "The carcasses of three fat wethers were bruised for gravy to make sauce for a single Peacock".

THE BLACK-WINGED PEACOCK.

The BLACK-WINGED PEACOCK (_Pavo nigripennis_), a very similar species, differs from the above principally in the blackish blue or blueish green feathers on the upper wing-covers. The hen has a light grey plumage, spotted with a darker shade.

THE JAPAN PEACOCK.

The JAPAN PEACOCK (_Pavo muticus_, or _Pavo spicifer_) far exceeds its congeners in beauty. In this bird the body is slender and the foot high. The crest is composed of feathers having broader tips than those in the crest of the Common Peacock. The upper throat and the head are emerald-green; the feathers of the lower throat are adorned with blueish green spots, having golden edges; and the emerald-green breast-feathers gleam with gold. The belly is brownish grey, the wing-covers are dark green, the quills brown, marbled with black and grey on the outer web, and the secondary quills black, with a greenish gloss. The long feathers of the upper tail-covers resemble those of the Common Peacock, but are more gorgeous. The eye is greyish brown, the bare region around blueish green, the cheek brownish yellow, the beak black, and the foot grey. The female resembles her mate, but is without the train.

The earliest description of this splendid bird is given by Aldrovandus, in the sixteenth century; this was taken from a drawing sent some years before by the Emperor of Japan to the Pope, who gave it to his nephew, the Marchese Tachinetti, from whom Aldrovandus received it. On the authority of this author it had been described in several scientific works, till at length, no further knowledge being gained concerning the species, its actual existence began to be doubted, and Cuvier, in his "Règne Animal," says, "Le Paon de Japon, ou Spicifère (_P. muticus_, Linn.), n'est rien moins qu'authentique. Le veritable Paon sauvage du Japon differe peu du notre, par les couleurs, et point par l'aigrette."

M. Temminck, however, admitted the species, and described it principally from the account of Le Vaillant, who had seen an example of it in a menagerie at the Cape of Good Hope. At the time of the publication of Temminck's work, a specimen was received in the Paris collection, and two males were procured by Professor Jameson for the Ornithological Museum of Edinburgh.

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The GUINEA FOWLS (_Numidæ_) are recognisable by their strongly-built body, short wings, moderate-sized tail, very long feathers in the upper tail-covers, moderate-sized, short-toed feet, without spurs; strong beak, and head and neck more or less denuded of feathers, and decorated with a crest, plume, wreath, or helmet of feathers, and lappets of skin. The plumage of both sexes is usually dark, enlivened with white. The female is adorned with a dress similar to that of her mate.

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The ROYAL GUINEA FOWLS (_Acryllium_) differ in many particulars from all their congeners. These birds have a slender body, long thin neck, small bare head, decorated with a wreath, extending from the ears over the back of the head, and formed of very short velvety feathers; the feathers on the throat are lancet-shaped; the upper secondaries considerably exceed the primaries in length, and the centre tail-feathers are longer than those at the exterior. The short strong beak is much curved, and has the upper mandible very decidedly hooked at its tip; the tarsi are high, and furnished with a spur-like wart. The members of this group are natives of Africa.

THE VULTURINE ROYAL GUINEA FOWL.

The VULTURINE ROYAL GUINEA FOWL (_Acryllium vulturinum_) has the head and upper part of the throat destitute of feathers, but besprinkled with hairs of a black colour, which are longest on the neck; the nape is thickly clothed with short, velvet-like, brown down, and the lower part of the neck ornamented with long, lanceolate, and flowing feathers, having a broad stripe of white down the centre, to which on each side succeeds a line of dull black, finely dotted with white, and margined with fine blue. The feathers of the inferior part of the back are of a similar form, but broader, with a narrower line of white down the centre, and with the minute white dots disposed in irregular and obliquely transverse lines. The wing-covers, back, rump, tail, under tail-covers, and thighs, are blackish brown, ornamented with numerous round and irregular spots of white surrounded by circles of black, the intermediate spaces being filled with very minute spots of dull white; the primaries are brown, with light shafts and spots of brownish white on the outer web; and the tips of the inner secondaries brownish black, with three imperfect lines of white disposed lengthwise on the outer web, and three rows of irregular spots of white on the inner web; the breast and sides of the abdomen are of a beautiful metallic blue, the centre of the abdomen black, the flanks dull pink, with numerous spots of white surrounded by circles of black; the bill is brownish, and the feet brown.

"Independently of the chaste and delicate markings which adorn the whole of this tribe, the neck of the present species of Guinea Fowl," says Mr. Gould, "is ornamented by a ruff of lanceolate flowing plumes, which new feature, as well as the head being entirely devoid of fleshy appendages, render it conspicuously different from all its congeners. We are not able to furnish any account of its history further than that our figure is taken from an example, in all probability unique, forming a part of the collection of the United Service Museum, to which it was presented by Captain Probyn. It is certainly one of the most noble birds that has been discovered for some years; and we indulge in the hope that the period may not be far distant when we shall become better acquainted with the species, and that living individuals may even become denizens of our menageries and farmyards, where they would doubtless thrive equally well as their congener so familiar to us all."

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The TUFTED GUINEA FOWLS (_Guttera_) are recognisable by the bushy crest upon the head, as also by their very powerful beak, moderately high tarsus, and short strong tail. The neck is without any actual lappet, but has the bare skin arranged in deep folds.

PUCHERAN'S TUFTED GUINEA FOWL.

PUCHERAN'S TUFTED GUINEA FOWL (_Guttera Pucheranii_) is of a beautiful but unusually dark blue on the back and under side, and covered with very small round or oval spots, which merge into stripes on the feathers of the upper wing-covers; the primary quills are of almost unspotted brownish grey, and the exterior secondaries broadly edged with white on the outer web. The crest is pale velvety black, the summit of the head and bare fore parts of the neck are bright red, with the folds of the skin dark greyish violet; the eye is deep brown, the beak greyish yellow with blueish base, and the foot almost black. This species is a native of South-eastern Africa.

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The GUINEA FOWLS (_Numida_) form a group distinguishable by a horn-like crest on the crown of the head, and two fleshy lappets that depend from the lower mandible. Near Fuentes, in St. Jago, the chief of the Cape Verde Islands, Darwin met with these beautiful birds in large flocks. They were extremely wary, and could not be approached, running away like Partridges on a rainy day, with their heads cocked up, and if pursued readily took wing. "The discovery of a nest of wild Guinea Fowl," says that writer, "was an incident that enlivened a peculiarly toilsome part of the journey, the passage through a long but narrow watercourse, now dry, filled with masses of loose slippery stone, almost impassable for a horse. In the midst of a thick tuft of grass, within a wood, beside this rocky path, a Guinea Hen had deposited her brood of twenty eggs."

Ellis, in his "Three Visits to Madagascar," says, "Among the companions of my journey was an officer, attended by a slave carrying in a neatly-made wicker cage a pair of perfectly white Guinea Fowls, as a great rarity, and a present from the chief of a distant province to the prince." In reference to this statement, Hartlaub tells us that he considers the Guinea Fowls of Madagascar to be specifically different from such as are natives of Africa.

THE COMMON GUINEA FOWL.

The COMMON GUINEA FOWL (_Numida meleagris_), the species from which our domestic bird is derived, when in its wild state, has the breast and nape unspotted lilac, and the back and rump grey, enlivened by small white dots, surrounded with a dark line. On the upper wing-covers these spots increase in size, and merge into narrow stripes on the outer webs of the secondary quills; the under side is greyish black, adorned with large round spots; the quills are brownish, streaked with white on the outer, and irregularly dotted and marked on the inner web; the dark grey tail-feathers are beautifully spotted, and those at the exterior partially striped. The broad lappets and comb are red, the eye is dark brown, the region of the cheek and the crest blueish white, the beak reddish horn-grey, the foot dull grey, and the toes flesh-colour. When tamed and reared, this species produces a race of much larger birds; these have the plumage very variously marked, and occasionally are entirely of a whitish or reddish hue.

THE MITRED PINTADO.

The MITRED PINTADO (_Numida mitrata_) has the horn-like excrescence on the head much developed, and the chin-lappets narrow and long. The pale black plumage is spotted with white; the feathers on the nape and throat are striped with greyish white, the secondary quills have the outer web partially streaked with white. The eye is greyish brown; the upper part of the head and base of the beak are bright red, a crescent-shaped patch behind the eye, the hinder part of the neck, and the throat are greenish blue, shaded with dark blue; the fleshy lappets are violet at the base and bright red at the tip; the comb or horn is pale yellow, the beak greyish yellow, and the foot blackish blue. This species is twenty-two inches long, the wing measures ten and the tail seven inches. The Mitred Pintado is found, though not abundantly, in Madagascar and Guinea, but is common in Mozambique and in Abyssinia. We learn from Layard that its habitat extends over the whole of the frontier district, into Ovampolando on the west, and to the Mozambique on the east, and that it is still abundant in some places within the colony, where the mimosa bush affords it sufficient shelter. It feeds on grain and insects, and lays from seven to ten eggs, rather sharply pointed at the small and rounded at the obtuse end. These are of a dark cream-colour, minutely dotted over with pin-points of brown.

The same authority tells us that these Guinea Fowls rear their young much in the same manner as our Pheasants do. If the female is startled she flies off and leaves her little family, who at once disperse in every direction, and hide so cunningly amongst the grass and bushes that they are seldom discovered: they usually remain in their concealment until called together again by the shrill note of the parent bird. In the Fish River Valley they roost upon the willow-branches that project over the large holes of water, out of the reach of wild cats. The _Phasidus niger_ and _Agelastus meleagrides_, two very similar species, are natives of Western Africa.

According to M. du Chaillu, the _Phasidus niger_ was met with by him from fifty to one hundred miles in the interior, reckoning from Cape Lopez, and was unknown to the inhabitants of the Cape. He obtained but a single specimen.

THE TUFT-BEAKED PINTADO.

The TUFT-BEAKED PINTADO (_Numida ptilorhyncha_), a very similar species, has the stiff feathers that encircle the throat of a velvety black, whilst those of the body are dark brownish grey, dotted with white. These markings become more perceptible on the upper wing-covers, and take an oval form on the outer web of the shoulder-feathers; the under side has a blueish grey lustre; the breast, sides, and lower tail-covers are decorated with large round spots. The brownish grey quills are more or less distinctly margined with light grey or whitish edges; the lower secondaries have a light blueish grey border, tinted with two shades of brownish grey, and, like the tail-feathers, are very distinctly spotted. The eye is brown and the cheek light blue, as are the large broad lappets; the throat is flesh-red, the bare crown of the head greyish yellow, and the tuft of bristle-like hairs at the base of the upper mandible, from which these birds derive their name, light yellow; the bill is reddish at its base and grey at its tip; the foot dark greyish brown.

This species is a native of Abyssinia and Nubia, where it frequents valleys bordered with thickets, and renders itself remarkable by its extremely harsh voice. It seldom flies, and then only for a short distance to escape from danger. The flesh is exceedingly savoury.

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The TURKEYS (_Meleagrides_) are large but comparatively slender birds, with long legs and short wings and tail; the moderate-sized head and neck are unfeathered and covered with warts; the short, strong beak, from which depends a fleshy wattle, has the upper mandible curved and vaulted. The high foot is furnished with long toes, the rounded wing has its third quill longer than the rest; and the tail, composed of eighteen broad, upright feathers, is also slightly rounded at its extremity. The thick heavy plumage is unusually glossy. One remarkable characteristic of these birds is the bristle-like structure of some of the breast-feathers, some of which are much longer than those of the rest of the body. The members of this group inhabit the forests, prairies, and open tracts of North America; the males wandering about the country in small parties of from ten to one hundred, and seeking their food apart from the females, who are occupied in feeding their young. Turkeys are found in a wild state from Canada to Panama, and so far from being improved by the care of man, have remarkably degenerated in a state of domesticity. When wild they often weigh from twenty to sixty pounds, and when standing upright, measure at least three feet in height. Formerly these birds were common in Canada and the central parts of the United States, but they have gradually fallen back before the advance of civilisation, although they only seem to yield their country inch by inch to the husbandman.

THE PUTER, OR WILD TURKEY.

The PUTER, or WILD TURKEY (_Meleagris gallopavo_), is of a brownish yellow on the upper parts of the body, which gleam with a beautiful metallic lustre, each feather having a broad resplendent black edge. The hinder portions of the back-feathers and tail-covers are dark reddish brown, striped green and black; the yellowish brown breast is darkest at its sides; the belly and legs are brownish grey, and the feathers on the rump pale black, faintly edged with a darker shade. The quills are blackish brown, the primaries greyish white, and the secondaries brownish, striped with white; the tail-feathers are brown, dotted and marked with black. The bare parts of the head and throat are pale sky-blue, the warts that cover the face bright red, and the lower region of the eye ultramarine-blue. The eye is yellowish blue, the beak whitish grey, and the foot pale violet or bright red. This species is from forty to forty-four inches long, and from fifty-three to sixty broad; the wing measures eighteen and the tail fifteen inches. The plumage of the hen, though somewhat resembling that of the male, is much less beautifully coloured; her length does not exceed thirty-five inches, and her breadth forty-eight inches and a half; the wing measures fifteen and the tail eleven inches.

Of the many accounts respecting the life of the Wild Turkey of North America, none is more excellent than the following from the pen of Audubon:--"The unsettled parts of the States of Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, an immense extent of country to the north-west of those districts upon the Mississippi and Missouri, and the vast regions drained by these rivers from their confluence to Louisiana, including the wooded parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama, are most abundantly supplied with this magnificent bird. It is less plentiful in Georgia and the Carolinas, becomes still scarcer in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and is now very rarely seen to the east of the last-mentioned States." It is already extirpated from the thickly-peopled portions of the continent.

"The Turkey," continues Audubon, "is irregularly migratory, as well as irregularly gregarious. When the supply of food in one portion of the country happens greatly to exceed that of another, the Turkeys are insensibly led towards that spot, by gradually meeting in their haunts with more fruit the nearer they advance towards the place where it is most plentiful. In this manner flock follows after flock, until one district is entirely deserted, while another is, as it were, overflowed by them.

"About the beginning of October, when scarcely any of the seeds and fruits have yet fallen from the trees, these birds assemble in flocks, and gradually move towards the rich bottom-lands of the Ohio and the Mississippi. The males, or as they are more commonly called, the 'gobblers,' associate in parties of from ten to a hundred, and search for food apart from the females; while the latter are seen advancing singly, each with its brood of young, then about two-thirds grown, or in connection with other families, forming parties amounting to seventy or eighty individuals, all intent on shunning the old cocks, which, even when the young birds have attained this size, will fight with and often destroy them by repeated blows on the head. Old and young, however, all move in the same course and on foot, unless their progress be interrupted by a river, or the hunter's dog force them to take wing. When they come to a river they betake themselves to the highest eminences, and there often remain a whole day, or sometimes two, as if for the purpose of consultation. During this time the males are heard gobbling, calling, and making much ado, and are seen strutting about as if to raise their courage to a pitch befitting the emergency. Even the females and young assume something of the same pompous demeanour, spread out their tails and run round each other, purring loudly and performing extravagant leaps. At length, when the weather appears settled, and all around is quiet, the whole party mount to the tops of the highest trees, whence, at a signal consisting of a single cluck given by a leader, the flock takes flight for the opposite shore. The old and fat birds easily get over, even should the river be a mile in breadth; but the young and less robust frequently fall into the water, not to be drowned, however, as might be imagined. They bring their wings close to their body, spread out their tail as a support, stretch forward their neck, and striking out their legs with great vigour, proceed rapidly towards the shore, on approaching which, should they find it too steep for landing, they cease their exertions for a few moments, float down the stream until they come to an accessible part, and by a violent effort generally extricate themselves from the water. It is remarkable that immediately after thus crossing a large stream, they ramble about for some time as if bewildered; in this state they fall an easy prey to the hunter.