GALLING — PHASIANID^E PAVO. 201 



♦INTRODUCED AND DOMESTICATED. 



Genus Pavo, Linnaus. Bill naked at the base, thick, convex above, deflected at the tip. Cheeks par- 

 tially naked. Head ornamented with a crest. Tarsi of the male spurred. Tail of eighteen 

 feathers. Upper tail-coverts longer than the tail, broad, expansile, ocellated. 

 P. cristatus. The Common Peacock. Crest on the head compressed, of twenty-four feathers. General 

 color above brillant blue, glossed with green and gold. Length, three to four feet. 



The Peacock is a native of India, where it is still found in its wild state. It breeds readily 

 throughout this country. 



Genus Numida, Linnaus. Bill thick, covered at the base with a warty membrane, in which the 

 nostrils are placed. Head naked; the crown with a bony protuberance. Beneath the cheeks, 

 pendulous carunculated wattles. Tarsi without spurs. Anterior toes united by a membrane 

 as far as the first joint. Tail short, bent down, of fourteen or sixteen feathers. 

 N. meleagris. The Guinea-fowl. Head and upper part of the neck naked, with a bluish skin. Plu- 

 mage bluish grey, sprinkled with rounded white spots. Length, 20 inches. 



The Guinea-hen is originally from Africa, and has long been introduced into Europe and 

 America. It is prolific and noisy, easily reared with us, and much esteemed as an article of food. 



Genus Gallus, Brisson. Bill smooth at the base, thick, slightly curved. Nostrils covered by an 

 arched scale. Generally an erect fleshy crest on the head. Throat with fleshy wattles on 

 each side of the lower mandible. Ears naked. Tarsi with strong spurs. Anterior toes 

 united by a membrane as far as the first joint. Tail of fourteen feathers, compressed, arched, 

 ascending. 

 G. domesticus. The Common Cock. Caruncle on the head usually compressed, denticulated. Throat 

 with two pendulous wattles. Feathers of the neck linear and elongated. 



Known in a state of domestication from the earliest times. The original stock very uncertain, 

 but supposed to have been derived from a species (G. bankiva) still existing in a wild state in the 

 island of Java. Numerous distinct varieties produced by domestication. No unreclaimed species 

 of the genus known on the continent of America. 



[Fauna — Part 2. J 26 



