CLASS AVES. 



151 



The Guinea-fowl came from Africa. Its harsh, ringing 



cry makes the bird very use- 

 ful in. the poultry-yard as a 

 protection from crows and 

 hawks. From the fact that 

 occasionally individuals in a 

 brood develop a white breast, 

 it is supposed there is a, 

 white variety, from which 

 those purely white may have 

 sprung. 



The Pearr>r/,\ tail-coverts 



FIG. 2.-.I. 



PIG. 258. 



A 



Pa' vo cris td' tus. Peacock. 



Nu'mida melea'gris. Guinea-fowl, (y^.) 



are decorated with eye-like 

 spots. The true tail-feath- 

 ers are short, un variegated, 

 and serve only as a support 

 for the so-called "tail." 

 Perhaps no one of the 

 feathered class presents 

 such incongruities in its 

 make-up. Its metallic hues 

 and markings distinguish 

 for it a coloration unrivaled 

 by that of any other bird. 

 But its legs and feet are 

 homely, and its voice one 

 of the harshest and most 

 repulsive known. Its proud 

 strutting with expanded 

 tail has made its name a 

 synonym for vanity in all 

 ages, even the Scriptures 

 in their single allusion to 



it, associating it with the frivolous apes. 



