BIRDS, 77 



regions of Asia. It is chiefly to be distinguished from the 

 common kind by the form and structure of the feathers which 

 compose the crest, and which are well barbed throughout 

 their whole extent, or somewhat lance-shaped, instead of ' 

 presenting little more than terminal expansions. 



Another singular bird of the gallinaceous order, which 

 by some authors has. been classed with the peacocks, is the 

 polyplectron, so called from the circumstance of its tarsi 

 being armed with several spurs. It is the peacock-pheasant 

 of Edwards's Gleanings, and the Iris and Thibet pheasants 

 of Latham's General Synopsis. This bird is extremely 

 beautiful, a great proportion of its plumage being orna- 

 mented by very brilliant spots of greenish blue, changing 

 with the lifrht to gold and purple ; these spots are sur- 

 rounded by a circle of black, and then by another of yellow- 

 ish white,'and a spot of the latter colour terminates the tip 

 fi{ every plume. The male is about the size of the golden- 

 pheasant. The plumage of the ferpale is less brilliant, and 

 her tail is shorter. The young birds are entirely of an 

 earthy gray, with large spots, and small lines of a brown 

 colour. After the first moult the plumage becomes less 

 irregular, and the position of the spots on the wings and 

 tail becomes ^^sible ; the second moult produces a more 

 determinate distribution of the colours, and the feathers 

 begin to be distinguished by a fine golden-blue tint, with 

 green reflections. It is not, however, till after the third 

 change, which occurs about the completion of the second 

 year, that the colours are manifested in their full per- 

 fection. The species is native to the mountains of Thibet. 

 It is said to occur also in China. It is of easy domestica- 

 tion, and is not remarkable for shyness even in a state of 

 nature. 



The common cock and hen {Gallus domesticus) next de- 

 mand a brief record. Of the numerous benefits which the 

 goodness of Providence has enabled us to derive from the 

 feathered race, there is probably none which surpasses in 

 extent and utility the domestication of these most familiar 

 birds. So ancient, hqwever, has been the subservience of 

 the species to the human race, that no authentic traditionary 

 traces now remain of its original introduction to any of the 

 more ancient kingdoms of the earth, and its existence under 

 the guardianship of man seems indeed coeval with the most 



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