AVKS. a7i 



of this family are restricted to the old world. They are the most heautiful 

 of the gallinaceous birds, and have no superiors in the whole feathered, 

 creation. 



Few of these birds have been domesticated, and they are generally not 

 highly prized for other qualities than their beauty of plumage. 



Sub-fam. 1 . Pavonincc, or Peacocks. Bill moderate, compressed, curved ; 

 wings short, rounded ; tail long, with the upper tail coverts very much 

 lengthened and extending beyond the tail ; tarsi long, robust ; feet strong. 

 Size various, generally large ; colors generally very beautiful. 



This sub-family is composed of some of the most magnificent of birds. 

 The peacocks, of which there are two species, belong here ; both inhabit 

 India and its islands, and they present plumage certainly not surpassed by 

 that of any other known birds. 



We find the splendor of the common peacock, Pavo cristatus {pi. Ofi, 

 fig. 5), mentioned at a very early period. It attracted the notice of the 

 mariners of Solomon, in the time of whom it appears to have been well 

 known. It was afterwards discovered by the army of Alexander, by 

 whom it was so much admired that he imposed a penalty on its destruc- 

 tion. Hence it became known to Greece, Rome, and to Europe gene- 

 rally. 



Peacock shooting is a favorite amusement in India, where in some di.';- 

 tricts they are abundant. " About the passes in the Jungletery district," 

 says Colonel Williamson, " I have seen such numbers 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, increased the 

 beauty of the scene ; and I speak within bounds when I assert, that 

 there could not have been less than twelve or fifteen hundred pea fowls 

 of various sizes, within sight of the spot where I stood for near an 

 hour. 



" When they are in numbers scattered in a jungle it is easy to get a shot, 

 but I have always found much difiiculty when the birds flock together, as 

 they frequently do, to the amount of forty or* fifty. At such times it is not 

 easy to raise them. When on the wing, they fly heavy and strong, gene- 

 rally within an easy shot; but if only winged, they speedily recover, and if 

 not very closely pursued will nine times out of ten disappear." 



It is worthy of notice that domestication has not changed the appear- 

 ance of the peacock in the slightest degree, though nearly all other birds 

 and quadrupeds have been more or less subject to variety from this 

 source. 



The other known species is the Java peacock (P. muticus), of which 

 little is known, though it is now frequently seen in museums. It has the 

 neck brilliant green instead of blue as in the common species, and differs 

 in other respects, though presenting a similar general appearance. It is 

 not domesticated. 



Another superb bird of this group, scarcely inferior in beauty to the pea- 



575 



