8 PREFACE. 



The greatest weight they can be made to attain is 

 thirty pounds ; those great birds which are sent to 

 the London markets about Christmas, principally 

 from Norfolk, frequently weighing from twenty to 

 twenty-five pounds. 



THE COMMON GUINEA FOWL, or Pintado, is too 

 well known to require any description. This 

 species, now so common, was originally brought 

 from Africa ; from whence it has been dispersed 

 over every part of Europe, the West Indies, and 

 America. It is kept in a domestic state almost 

 everywhere, but is not so tame as the turkey, and 

 it submits to restraint with difficulty. 



THE PEACOCKS are among the most gorgeous and 

 beautiful of the feathered race, and have been 

 admired in all ages. The species long naturalized 

 in Europe forms the most striking ornament of 

 our poultry yards and aviaries. It is a native of 

 India, where, in some districts, it is very abundant. 

 The manners of this superb bird, in a state of 

 domestication, are familiar to all; but, perhaps, it 

 is not generally known that, while in common 

 with all our domestic poultry, it eals worms, 

 insects, larvae, and the like, the pea-fowl is a 

 decided enemy to snakes and lizards, which it 



