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the Javanese Peacock. The COMMON PEA- 

 COCK (Pavo cr&to&M) is universally well 

 known ; and, as Button truly says, " its match- 

 less plumage seems to combine all that de- 

 lights the eye in the soft and delicate tints 

 of the finest flowers, all that dazzles it in 

 the sparkling lustre of the gems, and all that 

 astonishes it in the grand display of the 



rainbow." Though long naturalized in Eu- 

 rope, it is of Eastern origin, occurring in the 

 greatest profusion in the neighbourhood of 

 the Ganges, and in the extensive plains of 

 India, the kingdom of Siam, &c. As early 

 as the days of Solomon they were imported 

 into Judea by the fleets which that monarch 

 equipped on the Red Sea. From India they 

 were brought into Greece about the time of 

 Alexander ; and towards the decline of the 

 Roman republic they were introduced into 

 Rome, and were esteemed as one of the 

 choicest luxuries of the table. They are 

 still found wild in many parts of Asia and 

 Africa, but more particularly in the fertile 

 plains of India, where they attain a great 

 size, and exhibit colours which seem to vie 

 with the glittering gems and precious stones 

 produced in those luxurious regions. Of the 

 exact period when it was introduced into 

 England we have no authentic record ; but 

 we learn from good authority that it long 

 formed one of the dishes in the second course 

 of eve_ry great feast ; being usually baked 

 in a pie, made in the form of the bird, with 

 the head raised above the crust, the beak 

 richly gilt, and the tail expanded. In the 

 days of chivalry it was common for the 

 knights to make their vows of enterprise at 

 a solemn feast, on the presentation to each. 

 knight, in turn, of a roasted peacock in a 

 golden dish. 

 The ordinary length of the Peacock, from 



the tip of the bill to that of the tail, is about 

 four feet. Its finely-shaped head is adorned 

 with a tuft, consisting of twenty-four fea- 

 thers, whose slender shafts are furnished 

 with webs only at the ends, painted with 

 the most exquisite green, edged with gold : 

 the head, throat, neck, and breast are of a 

 deep blue, glossed with green and gold ; the 

 back of the same, tinged with bronze ; the 

 scapulars and smaller wing-coverts, reddish 

 cream colour, variegated with black; the 

 middle coverts deep blue, glossed with green 

 and gold ; and the belly and vent are dusky, 

 with a greenish hue. The tail, which is of 

 a gray-brown, is hidden beneath that which 

 constitutes the distinguishing character of 

 this beautiful bird its magnificent train, 

 which rises above it, and, when expanded, 

 forms a superb fan of the most resplendent 

 hues : the shafts are white, and are furnished 

 from their origin, nearly to the end, with di- 

 vided irridescent barbs ; at the extremity of 

 these feathers the barbs unite, and form a flat 

 extended vane, decorated with what is called 

 " the eye." This is a brilliant spot, or circlet, 

 enamelled with the most enchanting colours ; 

 yellow, gilded with various shades ; green, 

 running into blue and bright violet, varying 

 according to its different positions ; the whole 

 receiving additional lustre from the colour 

 of the centre, which is a fine velvet black. 

 " When pleased or delighted, and in the 

 sight of his females, the Peacock erects his 

 train, and displays the majesty of his beauty : 

 all his movements are full of dignity ; his 

 head and neck bend nobly back, his pace is 

 slow and solemn, and he frequently turns 

 slowly and gracefully round, as if to catch 

 the sunbeams in every direction and produce 

 new colours of inconceivable richness. " 

 These gorgeous plumes, however, whose ver- 

 satile hues he has so often displayed with 

 all the pride of conscious superiority, are 

 shed every year ; and then, as if sensible of 

 his loss, he seeks the most obscure retreats 

 to conceal himself, till the returning spring 

 restores him to his accustomed beauty. The 

 cry of the Peacock, especially on a summer 

 evening and at night, is often repeated, and 

 his loud and discordant screams are gene- 

 rally considered as the sure prognostic of 

 bad weather. The legs are gray-brown, those 

 of the male being furnished with a strong 

 spur ; and the feet are clumsy in the ex- 

 treme. 



The female (called the Pea-hen) is rather 

 less than the male ; and her train is not only 

 very short, but destitute of those dazzling 

 colours by which he is distinguished : her 

 whole plumage, in fact, partakes of a light 

 brown or cinereous hue. She seldom lays 

 more than four or five eggs at a time, and 

 always chooses some sequestered or secret 

 spot, where she can conceal them from the 

 male, who is apt to break them. The eggs 

 are white and spotted ; and she sits from 

 twenty-five to thirty days, according to the 

 temperature of the climate or the warmth 

 of the season. The young birds do not ac- 

 quire their perfect brilliancy till the third 

 year. Occasionally the Peacock has the 

 whole of the plumage of a pure white colour, 

 the eyes of the train not excepted, but they 



