BOOK in. 



OF BIRDS OF THE POULTRY KINh 

 CHAPTER I. 



OP BIRDS OF THE POULTRY KIND IN GENERAL. 



FROM the most rapacious and noxious tribe of birds, we make a 

 transition to those which of all others are the most harmless, and the 

 most serviceable to man. He may force the rapacious tribes to assist 

 his pleasures in field, or induce the smaller warblers to delight him 

 with their singing ; but it is from the poultry kind that he derives the 

 most solid advantages, as they not only make a considerable addition 

 to the necessaries of life, but furnish out the greatest delicacies to 

 every entertainment. 



Almost, if not all the domestic birds of the poultry kind that we 

 maintain in our yards, are of foreign extraction ; but there are others 

 to be ranked in this class that are as yet in a state of nature ; and 

 perhaps only wait till they become sufficiently scarce to be taken un- 

 der the care of man, to multiply their propagation. It will appear 

 remarkable enough, if we consider how much the tame poultry which 

 we have imported from distant climates has increased, and howmucli 

 those wild birds of the poultry kind that have never yet been taken 

 into keeping have been diminished and destroyed. They are all 

 thinned; and many of the species, especially in the more cultivated 

 and populous parts of the kingdom, are utterly unseen. 



Under birds of the poultry kind I rank all those that have white 

 flesh, and comparatively to their head and limbs, have bulky bodies 

 They are furnished with short strong bills for picking up grain, which 

 is their chief, and often their only sustenance. Their wings are short 

 and concave; for which reason they are not able to fly far. They lay 

 a great many eggs ; and as they lead their young abroad the very day 

 they are hatched, in quest of food, which they are shown by the mo- 

 ther, and which they pick up for themselves; they generally make 

 their nests on the ground. The toes of all these are united by a 

 membrane as far as the first articulation, and then are divided as in 

 those of the former class. 



Under this class we may therefore rank the common cock, the pea 

 cock, the turkey, the pintada or Guinea-hen, the pheasant, the bustard 



