2 BRITISH BIRDS. 



she first attracted attention, the name of the peacock 

 was derived in the same manner. It is everywhere 

 called by the ancients " the bird of Media," or Persia, in 

 which the land of Cush, or Cuth, was situate, because it 

 came originally from that region. 



In Greece, and in the Lesser Asia, the peacock was 

 long held in high estimation, and frequently purchased 

 by the affluent at a very high price. In the age of 

 Pericles, a person made a great fortune at Athens by 

 rearing these birds, and exhibiting them to the public ; 

 and many flocked to the sight from the remotest parts 

 of the country. Alexander was so struck, it is said, 

 with astonishment on beholding these birds on the 

 banks of the Indus, and so filled with admiration at 

 their beauty, that he commanded that any person should 

 be severely punished who killed one of them. The 

 voice of the peacock is in strange contrast with its gor- 

 geous array ; it is, in fact, a shrill and repulsive scream. 



There is generally some drawback to what is thought 

 very beautiful; and the legs of the peacock are often 

 considered unsightly ; yet these are, doubtless, best 

 adapted to its circumstances. A singular story is told 

 of one of these birds, which shows its strength. It was 

 a fine and full-grown one, and was observed on a half- 

 finished haystack in the Wottingham meadows. The 



