SSI 



PAVON'in.K 



PAVOXin.K. 



Bl 



i Colooei WilUamaon. * when I a*Mtt that there could not bo 

 ! ihn twelve or fifteen hundred pra-fowl, of various rise*, within 

 >ibt of tl> pot when I Mood for near u hour." 



Bufloo mod other* ay lht the bird wu introduced into Greece, 

 nhrnc* it bu been spread throughout Europe, in the time of Alexander 

 the OrraL Other* again, with greater aliow of reason, a**ert that it 

 wae brought to Greece before the time of Periclej. Certain it u that 

 the peacock U meationed in two plays of Arutophanri, the ' Acbar- 

 nian* ' and the ' Bird*,' the firrt of which wa repreeented in the third 

 year of the >Sth Olympiad, and the Ust in the aeeond year of the Hist 

 Olympiad. Now Alexander wai not born till the second year of the 

 0th Olympiad. Athenco* quote* from other old poet* Kupolis, for 

 inetano* ; nor dor* Aristotle (peak of the bird in any other terms 

 than tboM which would indicate that it had become very well known 

 when he wrote : " Some are jealoua and rain like the peacock," say* 

 ArMotle, when tpeaking of the qualitie* exhibited by certain animal*. 

 ('Hirt. Anim.,' i, 1.) 



Although not often eat-n in thu country, the peacock when young 

 U (aid to be juicy and (*pid. In ancient time* no great feast was 



nplete, even in tlii* country, without thin bird, which was pro- 

 ted by the cewer well cooked, but in all it* gorgeous plumage ; and 

 the adventurou* knight made his eolemn vow before tho peacock and 

 tbeladiea, 



P. J*fetu. Aldror. (P. Jaraniem, Horsficld). Mr. Bennett, who 

 had an opportunity of examining two living birds in the garden of the 

 Zoological Society of London, in addition to Bluffed specimens, gives 

 the following accurate description of this species. Prevailing tints 

 blue and green, varying in intensity and mutually changing into each 

 other according a* the light fall* more or less directly upon them. In 

 six and proportion* the two specie* are nearly similar, but the crest 

 of /'. Jaraxiciu i* twice a* long a* that of /'. critlatta, and the feathers 

 of which it U composed are regularly barbed from the base upwards 

 in the adult bird, and of equal breadth throughout. Head and crest 

 interchangeably blue and green. A naked space on the cheeks, 

 including the eye* and ear*, i* coloured of a light yellow behind, and 

 bluieb-green toward* it* forepart The feathers of the neck and 

 breast, which are broad, abort, rounded, and imbricated like the scales 

 of a flab, are at their biuo of the game brilliant hue as the head, and 

 hare a broad, lighter, somewhat metallic margin ; those of the back 

 bare still more of the metallic lustre. The wing-coverts are of the 

 general hue, with a deeper tinge of blue ; the primary quill-feathers 

 arc light chertnut The tail-feathers and their coverts (train) are of a 

 splendid metallic brown, changing into green ; their barbs are extremely 

 loog.loo*e, silky, and somewhat decomposed ; and the latter are almost 

 all terminated by ocellated spot* similar to those which mark the tail 

 (train) of the common specie*, and of nearly the same rize. As in it, 

 they are of beautiful deep purple in the centre, which is about the 

 sue of a shilling ; this i* surrounded by a band of green, becoming 

 narrow behind, but widening in front and tilling up a kind of notch 

 that occurs in the blue ; then comes a broad brownish band ; and, 

 lastly, a narrow black ring, edged with chestnut, all beautifully 

 metallic, or rather representing the hues of various precious stones 

 when viewed in certain lights. Bill of a grayish horn-colour, rather 

 longer and mure (lender than in the common ipecies; iris deep 

 baxcL Leg* strong, naked, reticulated, dusky black; spurs large, 

 and of the aame hue. (' Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological 

 Society. 1 ) 



The bird above described i* the Paro miUicui of Linntcu*, who, as 

 the name implie*, described it a* being devoid of spurs, relying pro- 

 bably oo Aldrpvandui, whom he quote*, and who figure* it without 

 pan, describing it under the name of 1'aro Japonrntit. It is the 

 Jpan Peacock of Latham, the Paro tpitifenu of Vieillot, the Pavo 

 Aldronutdi of Wilson, and Pavo Jaraniriu of Dr. Honfield, who saw 

 it in Java. (f these name*, that of Aldrovandus ha* tho priority; 

 then come* that of Unmeiu, which may minlead ; then that of Hors- 

 Bld ; thro that of Vieillot. We do not aee anything objectionable in 

 the name given by Aldrovandu*, ind therefore we have retained it 



IrVlrayrw (Linn.). The Meleagri* of the ancienU wa* not a turkey, 

 bat a guinea-fowl (.VwmVfa). Linnvu* however having given this 

 a* the generic name for the Turkeys, which were not known to the 

 aeieota, omithologisU have continued it. Nor i* this now of much 

 OOM* 1)11*11 in, oerUinly not of sufficient importance to change the 

 MOM; for notwithstanding the confusion and doubt thrown over the 

 abject by the learned ducuuioos of the earlier modern ornitholo- 



I that tho Turkey* 

 ' of America, from 



ited state over the 



grratert part of the dviliwd globe. It ha* the following generic 

 cfcacter*:-The bill rather short, *tro.,g, curved, convex, vaulted, 

 '? b ?*!'. fo W " d wiUl kl -kin; a fleshy caruncle surmounting 

 Uw bill of an erectile nature and conical form. Head and neck 

 unrounded with a wrinkled manimillated skin, banging looa* like a 

 dewlap a* far a* the upper part of the breast Hind toe touching 

 



Two sptcte* are known : one, If. Oallopato, the original stock from 

 which the domeeticated turkey is derived ; the other, M. oceUala, a 

 much more beautifully plumsged bird, did not exhibit in the only 

 known prcimen any trace of the tuft of hair on the breast That 



gitte. it i. generally known and satisfactorily proved th* 

 ww only known to Europeans after th* dUoovery of . 

 which OM aped**) bat* been spread in a domesticated i 



character therefore i* omitted above ; but it is not certain that the 

 hut-mentioned species is entirely without this tuft, for the plumage 

 of the ipecimen was damaged. 



M. GaUopavo. This i* the M. occiilrnla'ii of Hat-tram ; SI. /era of 

 Vieillot; Uallo d'lnli.i, C.illinaccio (male), liallina d'ludia (female), 

 of the Italians; Coq d'lude and Dindon, Diude (female), of the 

 French ; Indianuohe Halm of the Germans ; Wild Turkey and 

 Domestic Turkey of the British and Anglo-Americana. In iU wild 

 state it has the following characters: 



Hale. Head small in proportion to the body, covered with a naked 

 bluish skin, continued over the upper half of the neck and uneven 

 with warty elevations, changeable red on the upper portion and whiii-li 

 below, interspersed with a few scattered black hairs. The flacciil an. I 

 membranous naked akin, also changeable on the lower part of tbo 

 neck, extends downwards into large wattles. A wrinkled conical 

 Beany protuberance, capable of elongation and with a pencil of hairs 

 at the tip, takes it* rise from the base of the bill, where the latter 

 joins the front When this excrescence is elongated under excite- 

 ment, it covers the bill and depends several inches below it A tuft 

 of long rigid black hair spring* from the lower part of the nnck at 

 its junction with the breast, shooting out from among the plumage to 

 the length of 9 inches. The Ease of the feather* of tho body, which 

 are long and truncated, consists of a light fuliginous down ; this part 

 of the feather is succeeded by a dusky portion, which is again followed 

 by a brood shining metallic baud, varying from copper-colour or bronze 

 to violet or purple, according to the play of the light, and the tip i 

 a broad velvety band ; but this last is absent in tho feathers of the 

 neck and breast The general plumage presents a glancing metallic 

 lustre, which is however least glossy on the lower part of tho bock 

 and tail-coverts. The wings are concave and rounded, not extending 

 much if at all beyond the base of the tail. Quills 28 ; primaries 

 blackish banded with white, secondaries whitish banded with blockish, 

 tinged towards the bock particularly with brownish-yellow. Tail 

 15 inches in length at least, rounded at the extremity, the feather* 18, 

 broad, and capable of expansion and elevation into a fan-shape. The 

 general colour of these feathers is brown mottled with black, crossed 

 by numerous narrow undulating lines of the same. There i* a broad 

 black band near the tip, then a short mottled portion, and lastly a 

 broad dingy yellowish bond. The bird stands rather high on it* 

 robust red legs, the scales of which have blackish margins, and the 

 blunt spurs are about on inch long : the claws are dusky. Kill reddish, 

 but horn-coloured at the tip. IrXles dark-brown. Length nearly four 

 feet; expanse of wings more than five. 



Female. Irides similar to those of the male. Bill and spurlnra legs 

 less stout Head and neck with less of naked skin, being partially 

 covered with dirty gray feathers. Those on the back of the neck 

 have brownish tips, and so produce a longitudinal band there. Tho 

 short caruncle on the front is incapable of elongation ; and though 

 the tuft on the breast is not present in young hens, it is highly 

 developed in the older ones, as may be seeu in Mr. Audubou's cele- 

 brated plate. Prevailing hue of plumage dusky gray, each feather 

 having a metallic band duller thoii in tho male, then a blackixh band, 

 and lastly a grayish fringe. The blackish band is almost obliterated 

 on the neck feathers and under surface. The whole plumage is more 

 sombre than that of tho male ; there is Irss white on the primariex, 

 and there are no bands on the secondaries. The colour of the tail is 

 much as it is in the male. Length not exceeding 3J feet 



Young. The sexes are not easily distinguished till the skin of the 

 head and neck begins to be tinged with red; but a tubercle on the 

 breast of the young males at the approach of the first winter shows 

 where the tuft is to be ; during the second year the tuft becomes some 

 three inches long ; and during the third the bird is adult. It con- 

 tinues however to grow in dimensions and beauty for several yearn. 

 The females attain their full sizo and colouring at the end of four 

 years, when they have the breast tuft, which is not so full as it is in 

 the male, and seldom exceeds the length of 4 or 5 inches. 



The weight of these birds must either be now greatly diminished 

 or the older writers must have been given to exaggeration, which last 

 U the probable case. From 60 Ibs. to 60 Ibe. ha* been mentioned, and a 

 modern ornithologist of some celebrity, relying on old authorities, 

 joes beyond the latter weight, as the maximum, putting however the 

 minimum at 20 Ibs. Prince Bonaparte states that birds of 30 Ibs. 

 weight are not uncommon, and that he had ascertained the existence 

 of some which weighed 40 Ibs. Mr. Audubon gives the average at 

 from 15 Ib*. to 18 Ibs., and mentions a single instance, in the market 

 at Louisville, where the weight was 86 Ibs. 



Prince Bonaparte, in his continuation of Wilson's ' North American 

 Ornithology,' informs us that the males, usually termed Gobblers, 

 associate in parties of from ten to a hundred, and seek their food 

 apart from the females, which either go about singly with their young, 

 at that time about two-thirds grown, or form troops with other females 

 and their families, sometimes to the amount of 70 or 80. These all 

 avoid the old male*, who attack and destroy the young, whenever they 

 can, by reiterated blows on the skull. But all parties travel in the 

 same direction and on foot, unless the dog of the hunter or a river in 

 their line of march compel them to take wing. When about to cross 

 a river, they select the highest eminences, tbat their flight may be more 

 sure, and in such position* they sometimes stay for a day or more, a* 



