PEACOCKS. 



287 



and breast are of the deepest metallic blue, with surface tints of golden green ; 

 and his tail-coverts, enormously elongated, form a most magnificent train, 

 adorned with hundreds of splendid eye-like spots. His general form also 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 ex- 

 citing, the beholder is constrained to admit that there is no creature upon 





Fig. 146.— The Common Peacock {Pavo cristatiis). 



which Nature has lavished her powers of adornment with a more unsparing 

 hand. The voice of the peacock is proverbially harsh and discordant, closely 

 resembling the word paon, which is its French name. The colours of the 

 female, or Peahen, are plain and unobtrusive, and in her the train is wanting. 

 The introduction of this bird into Europe is ascribed to Alexander the Great, 

 but the date at which it was first brought to this country is unknown. Pea- 

 cocks formed a favourite dish amongst the Romans, and also found a place 

 in the feasts of the middle ages, when they were served up with great pomp. 

 Their flesh is excellent, and m India they are very commonly eaten. Captain 

 Williamson informs us that "when tlie/t'<?//// berries or figs are in season, their 

 flesh is rather bitter, but when they have fed awhile among the corn-fields, the 



