PEA FOWLS. 265 



feet from the bill to the end of the "tail." The naked 

 space round the eye is also of a livid blue colour, and the 

 feathers of the neck are laminated, or resembling scales. 

 The most characteristic difference, however, is in the crest, 

 which is much higher, and the feathers of which are 

 webbed, though rather scantily, from the base, instead of 

 being bare till near the tips. The bird also differs in only 

 possessing his long and splendid ocellated train during the 

 breeding season, at other times appearing with feathers not 

 so long, and destitute of the well-known "eyes," but of a 

 rich green with gold reflections, beautifully and regularly 

 " barred," or "pencilled," on a very large scale, with whity- 

 brown. This splendid bird is not very common. 



A third variety has recently been described, called the 

 " black-winged " Pea-fowl, in which the shoulders and most 

 of the wing in the male bird are black. The hen is much 

 lighter than the common breed, being generally of a cream 

 colour, with a dark back. 



Pea-fowl are of a very wild disposition, and generally 

 roost either on trees or on the very top ridge of a roof, to 

 which they fly with ease. The hen lays in the greatest 

 seclusion, and must be allowed to select her own nest, 

 usually deep in a shrubbery. She lays generally from five 

 to nine eggs, but sometimes considerably more. The time 

 of incubation is about twenty-eight to thirty days. One 

 cock should not have more than three or four hens. 



It is no use setting Pea-fowl eggs under common hens, 

 which forsake their chickens long before the young Pea- 

 chicks can endure the night air. The Pea-hen goes with 

 her brood nearly six months, and the chicks need this. 

 They have, however, been reared in an artificial brooder. 

 They are fed and cared for as turkeys, but must be let out 

 on the grass always in dry weather, or they will not thrive. 

 The food is also similar in general ; but some worms or 



