GALLINID^E. 



571 



arrangement of these birds. Cuvier makes seven 

 families : 



1. ALECTORS (Alectoridts), of which we have given 

 some slight notice under that title. Of this family 

 there are four genera ; Curassows ( Crax), which 

 have been already noticed ; Pauxi (Oura.v] ; Guan 

 (Penelope) ; and Parraqua (Otialida). 



2. OPISTHOCOMUS (the Hoazin of Buffon), of 

 which there is but one species, and very little is 

 known of it. 



'i. PEACOCKS (Pavo), forming 1 two genera, the 

 peacocks properly so called, and Lophapkorut. 



4. TUIIKEYS (JMWfOgri*). 



ft. GUINEA FOWL (Nitmida), 



o'. PHEASANTS (Phaimniis], of which there are 

 four genera : Common Fowls (Gall us) ; Pheasants 

 (Pha&iamti) ; Hoitppifcm, Tragopon, and Cryptonix. 



7. GUOUSE (Ti'truo), of which the genera, and also 

 ihe species, are much more numerous than inmost of 

 the others. As it would exceed our limits, and be 

 inconsistent with the plan of this work, to go into all 

 the details, we shall advert most particularly to those 

 that possess the greatest interest ; and, for this rea- 

 son, we shall begin with those that may be con- 

 sidered as most typical of the order, and, at the same 

 time, of most value to man. 



GALLUS. The common Cock, or common domes- 

 tic poultry. This is the genus from which the order 

 is named, and must, therefore, be considered as the 

 typical one ; and it is so well known as not to require 

 much description. The most general characters of the 

 male bird are, a fleshy crest on the crown of the head, 

 which usually consist's of a single pectinated lamella, 

 or plate, which is called the " comb ; " but it is some- 

 times double, or even formed into a kind of rosette. 

 The sides of the base of the under mandible are also 

 each furnished with a pendent lobe, of the same ap- 

 pearance and texture as the crest, and these are 

 called ' wattles." When the bird is in " prime fea- 

 ther," these appendages are of a bright crimson ; but 

 when moulting, or otherwise in bad condition, they 

 are pale ; and when the bird is exposed to severe 

 cold, they are purple or bluish. The tail consists 

 of fourteen feathers, seven on each side, which fold 

 backwards against each other, like the leaves of a 

 book, when the bird is on the ground or in a state of 

 repose. The tail-coverts are much produced, and 

 hang over the tail feathers in very graceful arches ; 

 and they are often richly glossed with metallic reflec- 

 tions of bronze, purple, or green. The feathers on 

 the neck are also very much produced and pointed. 

 These feathers are called the " hackle." In a state 

 of repose, they form a mantle on the neck and upper 

 part of the shoulder ; but when the bird is excited 

 and shows fight, they are erected, and break the force 

 of any stroke aimed against that part of the body. All 

 the varieties have a naked space on the cheeks and 

 round the eyes, which is of the same texture as the 

 comb and wattles, and varies in colour in the same 

 way. This character belongs to the female as well as 

 the. male ; but in the female the crest and wattles are 

 merely nulimontal, excepting in some individuals 

 which have become barren, and they acquire a sort of 

 neuter appi-arunce, intermediate between that of the 

 male and the fertile female. The male is furnished 

 with a horny spur on the tarsus, which is his weapon 

 of war ; and this, which is only rudimental, if at all 

 visible, in the fertile female, sometimes appears in 

 those that have become barren. When the female 



has put on any of these appearances of the male, it 

 may always be concluded that her barrenness is con- 

 firmed, and that she has ceased to be useful in a 

 domestic point of view. 



It would be in vain to attempt any description of 

 the varieties of common poultry, as they occur in a 

 domestic state. But though they have been famili- 

 arly known and very abundant, in all parts of the 

 eastern world pretending to any degree of civilisation 

 and domestic economy, ever since, and even before 

 the earliest historic records, it was long before any 

 knowledge of their native country was obtained. 

 Inured to almost every climate, from the greatest 

 heat to the most intense cold, they appear to have 

 accompanied the human race in all their migrations ; 

 and as they are remarkably obedient to circumstances, 

 even to those that are too minute for being observed 

 by mankind, they take a type from countries, and 

 even from districts. They vary much in size, and 

 their tints and shades of colour are endless. Some 

 have the tarsi bare, while others have their feathers 

 down to the division of the toes. In some, the crest 

 on the top of the head is replaced by a tuft of fea- 

 thers, which is often very handsome ; but in some of 

 the varieties, these feathers grow so long as to hang 

 down over their eyes and obstruct the vision of the 

 birds. Some have the comb and the wattles quite 

 black, and when this is the case, the same colour 

 extends to the periosteum, or membrane covering the 

 bones, in all the skeleton. There seems to be a re- 

 markable susceptibility to colour in the periosteum of 

 these birds, which is soon communicated to the sub- 

 stance of the bones ; for when dye-stuffs are mixed 

 with their food, the tint of the dye tells upon the 

 bones. In many of the varieties, too, there are mon- 

 strous productions of the feet. Thus, for instance, a 

 fine breed which are met with chiefly in the county 

 of Surrey, and known as %< Dorking fowls," have five 

 or six toes upon each foot. This formation is not, 

 however, confined to that particular breed, but occurs 

 in probably all breeds, for " a ten-toed hen," is an ex- 

 pression known in many parts of the country ; and 

 in the witching times, when charms and counter- 

 charms were in repute, and all singular productions 

 of nature were called in to help in the matters of 

 weal or woe, the ten-toed hen had her use, much in 

 the same way that the crowing of the cock was un- 

 derstood to send quietly to their repose in " the Red 

 Sea," during the day, those spirits of nocturnal fear 

 which ventured to walk the earth when the clarion- 

 sentinel of the village was slumbering on his perch. 

 Absurd as these matters are in themselves, they suffice 

 to show the interest which our ancestors took in those 

 birds ; and, indeed, there is no animal which makes 

 a more conspicuous figure in ancient history and fable 

 than the common cock. His beauty, his bravery, his 

 usefulness, and, as much as anything, his cheerful and 

 early call, when the grey of morning has barely 

 streaked the east, all conspire to render him one of 

 the most interesting of birds. We give the following 

 quotation from Pliny, as a specimen of the opinions 

 of the ancients : " Next to the peacock," says he, 

 " the birds which are most sensible to glory are those 

 active sentinels which nature has produced to rouse 

 us from our matin slumbers, and send us to our daily 

 occupations. They are acquainted with the stars, 

 and every three hours they indicate by their crowing 

 the different periods of the day. They retire to 

 repose with the setting sun, and from the fourth mili- 



