202 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



at night and in raw weather covers them snugly under her protecting 



wings. 



2. The young birds leave the nest soon after emerging from the egg, 

 at a time when they are still unfledged. Hence the nest must be placed 

 on the ground, or, at least, in such a position that the chicks may be 

 able to reach the ground. It, in fact, consists of a shallow pit or 

 depression formed by the hen by turning her body round and round in 

 the straw, or prepared for her by her owners. 



3. The young birds at once go in search of their own food (compare, 

 on the other hand, those which stay in the nest) ; hence the mother hen 

 is enabled to hatch a large number of eggs at one and the same time, and 

 this also explains why 



4. The birds are polygamous in their sexual relations, a single 

 cock having several wives, and not in the least concerning himself 

 about the rearing of his progeny. The male birds engage in fierce fights 

 for the possession of the females, attacking each other furiously, and 

 dealing out mortal wounds with their beaks and the spur which is de- 

 veloped above the hind-toe ; nor is the battle at an end until one or other 

 of the combatants has quitted the field (cockfights in England, Spain, 

 and other countries). The cock, moreover, uses these same weapons 

 with fearless courage in defence of his family against such enemies as 

 the goshawk and sparrow-hawk. 



Allied Species. 



In addition to the domestic fowl, there are to be found in our poultry- 

 yards gallinaceous birds originating from other continents e.g., the 

 Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris), which was introduced from Africa. 



The Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), whose native home is in the 

 immense forests of North America. 



The Peacock (Pavo cristatus), originating from the dense mountain 

 forests of the East Indies, has been kept as an ornamental bird for some 

 thousands of years. (Describe these well-known birds, and give an 

 account of their habits and mode of life.) None of these birds, however, 

 have become naturalized in Europe. 



It is otherwise with the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which often 

 leaves man's protection (pheasant preserves), and lives like natural game. 

 Its native home is in Western Asia. As in most gallinaceous birds, the 

 male, requiring less protection than the female, is distinguished from 

 the latter by a more brilliant plumage, the cock-bird being resplendent 

 in lustrous greenish-blue and rufous tints, whilst the plumage of the 

 hen is of a dusky greyish-brown colour. Even more brilliant is the 



