NATURAL HISTORY. 313 



fall down chimneys, on which it is fond of standing, thereby 

 illustrating the proverb that " Pride will have a fall." 



The CARRIER PIGEON is the bird that was so largely em- 

 ployed to take messages, before the invention of the Electric 

 Telegraph rendered even the speed of the wind too slow for 

 the present day. The most valuable carriers were trained to 

 carry to and from their residence. A letter was written on a 

 small piece cf paper, and fastened under the wing of the pigeon, 

 or to its feet. The feet were then bathed in vinegar to keep 

 them cool, lest the bird should stop on the way to bathe. 

 When the Pigeon was set free, it rose high in the air, made 

 one or two circular flights, and then darted off like an arrow 

 in the proper direction. One of these birds has been known to 

 fly nearly one hundred and fifty miles in one hour. 



THE PEACOCK. 



THIS magnificent bird is not a native of this country, but 

 has been domesticated in England for many years. Some 

 suppose that it was at first brought from India by Alexander, 

 and by him introduced into Europe. The magnificent plumes 

 that adorn the Peacock are not the tail, as many suppose, but 

 the tail-coverts. The tail feathers themselves are short and 

 rigid, and serve to keep the train expanded, as may be seen 

 when the bird walks about in all the majesty of his expanded 

 plumage. 



Although pea-fowl seek their food on the ground, they 

 invariably roost on some elevated situation, such as a high 

 branch or the roof of a barn or haystack. "When the bird is 

 perched on the roof, its train lies along the thatch, and is quite 

 invisible in the dusk. 



We have almost dismissed pea-fowl from our entertainments 

 in these days, but in the times of chivalry, a roasted peacock, 

 still clothed in its plumage, and with its train displayed, 

 formed one of the chief ornaments of the regal board. The 

 nest of this bird is made of sticks and leaves rudely thrown 

 together, and contains from twelve to fifteen eggs. The 

 young do not attain their full plumage until the third year, 

 and only the males possess the vivid tints and lengthened 



O 



