PEAFOWLS 



207 



conspicuous character the differences between the two indicate 

 that they belong to entirely different species. The voice of the 

 peafowl is a harsh, piercing scream. 



The development of the plumage in the male at full maturity 

 is like that of the fowl and of some pheasants. In all of these 

 species in which the tail of the male assumes a highly decorative 

 form, it is not the tail proper that is so developed, but the tail 

 coverts and other feathers of the back, which in the male are 

 long and flowing. In the peacock these feathers are very re- 

 markably developed, both in form and in color. The largest are 



FIG. 167. Indian Peacock. (Photograph from the New York 

 Zoological Society) 



sometimes a yard long. The stem, or shaft, is a marvelous com- 

 bination of lightness and strength. For the greater part of the 

 length of the shaft the barbs are so far apart that they do not 

 form a web, but make a fringe on each side. Toward the tip of 

 the feather the barbs are closer together, and at the extremity 

 they form a broad web. The feathers of this structure growing 

 next to the main tail feathers are the longest. The next are a 

 little shorter, and thus the length diminishes until the shortest 

 coverts are only a little longer than the ordinary feathers of the 

 back. This feather formation is called the train. The train of 



