HISTORY OF BIRDS, 



BOOK III. 



OF BIRDS OF THE POULTRY KIND IN GENERAL. 



CHAP. I. 



OF BIKDS OF THE POULTRY KIND 

 IN GENERAL. 



KROM the most rapacious qjadr noxious tribe 

 of birds, we make a transition to those which 

 of all others are most harmless, and the most 

 serviceable to man. He may force the rapa- 

 cious tribes to assist his pleasures in the 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 advanta- 

 ges, as they not only make a considerable ad- 

 dition 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 

 under the care of man, to multiply their pro- 

 pagation. ' It will appear remarkable enough, 

 if we consider how much the tame poultry 

 which we have imported from distant climates 

 has increased, and how much 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 cultiva- 

 ted 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 abroac 



:he very day they are hatched, in quest of food, 

 which they are shown by the mother, and 

 which they pick up for themselves, they gene- 

 rally make their nests on the ground. The 

 oes 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 

 ;he common cock, the peacock, the turkey, 

 ;he pintada or Guinea-hen, the pheasant, the 

 bustard, the grous, the partridge, and the quail. 

 These all bear a strong similitude to each 

 other, being equally granivorous, fleshy, and 

 delicate to the palate. These are among birds 

 what beasts of pasture are among quadrupeds, 

 peaceable tenants of the field, and shunning 

 the thicker parts of the forest, that abound 

 with numerous animals, who carry on unceas- 

 ing hostilities against them. 



As Nature has formed the rapacious class 

 for war, so she seems equally to have fitted 

 these for peace^ restj and society. Their 

 wings are but short, so that they are ill formed 

 for wandering from one region to another; 

 their bills are also short, and incapable of an- 

 noying their opposers ; their legs are strong, 

 indeed, but their toes are made for scratching 

 up their food, and not for holding or tearing 

 it. These are sufficient indications of their 

 harmless nature ; while their bodies, which 

 are fat and fleshy, render them unwieldy tra- 

 vellers, and incapable of straying far from 

 each other. 



Accordingly we find them chiefly in society ; 

 they live together ; ajid though they may 

 have their disputes, like all other animals, 

 upon some occasions, yet when kept in the 

 same district, or fed in the same yard, they 

 learn the arts of subordination ; and, in pro. 

 portion as each knows his strength, he seldom 

 tries a second time the combat where he has 

 once been worsted. 



