THE PKA-FOAVL. 77 



tlieir larvae, slugs, worms, and even lizards and 

 small snakes. The voice of the peacock is a 

 loud dissonant scream, and a frequent reitera- 

 tion of this wild cry is said to indicate with 

 certainty a change of weather ; but we cannot 

 say that we have observed the fact ourselves. 



As in the case of the fowl and the pheasant, 

 instances are not unfrequent in which the 

 female assumes the male plumage, and even 

 acquires his spurs. The causes which operate 

 in producing this change we have briefly 

 noticed in the previous article. 



Long domestication has produced less variety 

 in the colour of the plumage of the pea-fowl, 

 than in the ordinary domestic fowl. We have 

 seen some white peacocks, and others more or 

 less pied with white ; there is also a japanned 

 breed, of which sir R. Heron speaks as follows : 

 " The japanned breed are, I believe, a variety 

 originating in England. In lord Brownlow's 

 numerous breed of common, white, and pied, 

 the japanned suddenly in my memory appeared 

 amongst them. The same thing happened in 

 sir J. Trevelyan's flock of entirely the common 

 sort ; also in a breed of common and pied 

 given by lady Chatham to Mr. Thoroton, and 

 in both cases to the extinction of the previously 



