180 THE PEA FOWL. 



of Great Britain ; but if I may presume to guess at 

 the tastes of the royal owner, more pleasure is derived 

 from the sight of her living models than from the in- 

 animate splendors of this glittering toy, although it 

 does so far 



Outshine the wealth of Ormus and of Ind, 

 Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand 

 Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold. 



MILTON. 



That the peacock should, in all times, have been 

 admired for its singular beauty is not surprising. 

 "When it moves along in state with its wings lowered 

 to the ground and its tail spread, the rays of the sun 

 glancing upon its gorgeous plumes, iridiscent with 

 metallic effulgence, the eye of every beholder is ar- 

 rested, and all gaze with admiration on the glorious 

 spectacle. When we talk of the peacock spreading its 

 tail, we use popular language. The gem-adorned 

 plumes, with their loose silken barbs, are not the tail, 

 but the tail coverts. The tail is beneath these, and 

 hidden by them, and consists of rather short, stiff 

 rust-colored feathers, which serve as a support to the 

 train. 



I would here willingly give an account of the habits 

 and manners of the wild pea fowls in the jungles of 

 India, parallel to that of the wild turkey of the Ameri- 

 can forests, but no Wilson, no Audubon, no Bonaparte, 

 has written their history, and, for myself, I have never 

 seen one in its native woods. I might, indeed, tran- 

 scribe much respecting pea-fowl shooting from the 

 works of various writers, sportsmen in India ; but from 

 all this we gain no positive information. The reader 

 must, therefore, pardon me for the meagre history of 

 the wild bird. However, what it is in captivity in our 

 country, thftt it is in the forests of India, domestication 

 having littVe influenced its nature. 



There can be little doubt that the splendor of this 

 bird first attracted the notice of the ancients, yet in 

 luxurious R,orne, its beauty was not its safeguard : on 



