80 



CLASS AVES. 



ORDER G A L L I N A C E A. 



its head a crest, reaching down to the middle of its neck, which it raises 

 when excited. Native of Guinea. 



PAUXI. This, together with the genera Crax and Penelope, occupy in 

 the new the place of the Pheasants in the old world. They live in great 

 numbers in the spacious forests of South America ; and, when domesti- 

 cated, are quiet, and live on peaceable terms with other poultry. Their 

 gait is slow, though they can run with great speed. The upper mandible 

 is remarkable for an elevation which forms part of the jaw itself, and is 

 covered with a continuation of the horny beak ; in one of the species it is 

 somewhat globular, and in the other broad at the base and sharp above ; 

 immediately behind this crest are placed the nostrils, partly covered with 

 skin, and opening below. 



PAVO Peacock. Peacocks are remarkable for the brilliancy and variety 

 of their colours, in which they vie with the Humming Birds, or other of 

 the more lustrous birds of hot climates. Their head is ornamented with a 

 tuft of feathers two inches in length, the stems of which have but few and 

 scattered barbs, except at their tips, where they are full and close as usual. 

 The tail is of great length and width ; this, however, does not depend, as 

 is generally the case, on the length of the tail-quills, but on that of the 

 upper tail-coverts, which far exceed the former ; they are capable of being 

 expanded to a considerable extent in a circular form, either in a horizontal 

 or in a vertical direction, and in either case the quills beneath seem to 

 support them like a framework. When pleased or delighted, the Peacock 

 erects his tail and stalks about with a slow and majestic pace, frequently 

 turning himself round in a composed and graceful manner, so that the light 

 may better display the rich colours of his resplendent plumage. When dis- 

 posed for quiet, they generally perch on a high wall or among the branches 

 of trees, where they roost for the night. 



There are two species, the Wild and the Japan Peacocks. From the 

 Wild Peacock (P. Cristatus), the stock of our Domestic Peacock, three 

 varieties have sprung: 1, the Domestic; 2, the White; 3, the Variegated 

 Peacock. 



In their natural state, Peacocks exist only in the south of Asia and in 

 the Indian Archipelago, whence they have been spread over the warm and 

 temperate parts of the globe. 



PEN-ELOPE. Although this genus in many respects resembles the Hoccos 

 and the Pauxis, still they exhibit some marked peculiarities. Instead of 

 collecting together in large coveys, as the just-mentioned two genera, they, 

 with the exception of a single species, live only in pairs, and are very rarely 

 met with in larger numbers ; for, so soon as the young birds can fly, they 

 leave the parent and become scattered about in the woods. They are 

 about the size of a Pheasant, have the tail long, slightly graduated and 

 rounded, and consisting of twelve quills. They build in trees ; and before 

 the young are fledged they leave the nest, and having reached the ground, 

 feed on worms and insects, and subsequently on grain. In their general 

 habits they bear much resemblance to Pheasants, coming out to feed 

 morning and evening, but hiding themselves during daytime in thick coverts 

 to avoid the heat of the sun. There are five species. 



PERDIX Partridge. The numerous individuals included in the genus 

 Perdix are arranged in four groups ; the first two from the arming of their 

 legs, the third from the form of the beak, and the last from the form of 

 the beak and the length of the first alar quill. The first subgenus consists 

 of the Francolins, the males of which have their legs armed with spurs ; 

 they live among the marshes and swamps on the borders of rivers, and 

 generally collect together at night and perch upon trees; their food is 

 principally the roots of bulbous plants, which, growing in a hard soil, 

 require the mattock-like beak possessed by these birds to dig them up. 

 The True Partridges form the second subgenus, and are characterised by 

 the callous tubercle which arms the legs of their males ; they are never 

 f mud in forests, but are inhabitants of meadows and plains, and they very 

 rarely, but never constantly, perch ; they live in families which are called 

 coveys, and, collecting together at night, huddle together on the ground 

 within a very small space; their food is green wheat, various kinds of 

 grain, seeds, and insects. The third subgenus, the Colins, forming the new 



genus Ortyx of Stephens, have neither spur nor tubercle on their legs, but 

 their beak is much deeper than it is wide, and sometimes the upper man- 

 dible lias upon it a blunt tooth. All these are natives of America. Like 

 the Francolins, they perch among the trees at night to protect themselves 

 from the attacks of reptiles and other carnivorous animals, and for the 

 same reason they build in trees, which neither of the preceding subgi -tn ru 

 do. The Quails compose the fourth subgenus, the principal distinction of 

 which consists in the first alar quill being always the longest, whilst in the 

 others the first three are the shortest, and the fourth and fifth the lon^-st ; 

 the beak also, though still compressed, is wider than it is deep. Host of 

 them are migratory. Species about thirty-eight. 



POLYPLECTRON (Gr. iro\c, many, and TrXfjxTpov, a spur). The Poly- 

 plectron does not elevate the tail like the Peacocks, nor has it the large 

 dorsal feathers of which the Peacock's expanded tail is composed ; its tail 

 is wide, rounded, and not at all arched ; by the temples being unprovided 

 with the velvet-like feathers ; and by its legs being always furnished with 

 more than one spur, and varying from six to four, two of which arc some- 

 times connected to one base ; the most usual number of spurs is three, the 

 most rare six. 



PTEROCLES (Gr. 7rrtpv, a wing) Ganga. This genus is considered by 

 Temminck as representing the Tetraones, in the countries under the torrid 

 zone, but distinguished from them by their slender form, by the lightness 

 of their body in proportion to their limbs, by the strength of their muscles 

 and the length of their wings, an organization suited to their long-continued 

 flights ; whilst their wide and short toes, with the elevation of the hind toe 

 above the ground, render them able to run with speed over the moving 

 sand. They are found, with the exception of one species, in the hot 

 countries of Asia and Africa, and are only accidentally seen in Europe. 

 Happy does the traveller consider himself when, toiling over the scorching 

 deserts, he meets with the Gangas, which indicate his approach to streams 

 and fountains of water. Living on the borders of the desert, either in 

 brushwood or on the dry plains scantily studded with bushes, they run 

 dailv over a considerable extent of ground in search of their accustomed 

 watering-places, and when these natural cisterns, or the streams which 

 feed them, are dried up, the Gangas do not hesitate to journey across the 

 shifting sands which most animals fear to encounter, and which all other 

 birds of this country avoid by passing along the coast. Some of them live 

 throughout the year, except at pairing-time, in large flocks, sharing alike 

 their dangerous migrations or the abundance which occasionally they meet 

 with ; but others of them, like the Partridges, live only in pairs with their 

 brood. There are ten species. 



SYRRHAPTES (Gr. avppmr, to sew together). This genus is so different 

 from the other Gallinacece that Cuvier thinks it doubtful whether it belongs 

 to the order ; it is founded on a species of Grouse discovered by Pallas. 



TETEAO (Gr. rtrpautf) Grouse. The Tetraones belong specially to 

 the northern parts of the globe, being found only in the north of Europe, 

 Asia, and America; their place is occupied in the sandy regions of Asia 

 and Africa by Temminck's Pterodes, or Land Grouse. The several sections 

 of the Tetraones themselves affect particular districts, and have somewhat 

 peculiar habits, although generally polygamous. Except during brei 

 time, all the species keep on the ground, in the deepest parts of the forests, 

 during daytime, but at night they roost in trees, to which also they resort 

 if disturbed. After having paired, and produced eggs, the males desert 

 the females, and generally live apart, the hatching and bringing up of the 

 broods being left completely to the hens. They feed almost entirely upon 

 buds, berries, and the young shoots of pines, spruce, and birch, and occa- 

 sionally, when these fail, on grain. The young are fed on worms, insects, 

 and ants' eggs, of which they are very fond. The True Grouse, distin- 

 guished by having the legs feathered down to the toes, arc distributed over 

 the more temperate climates, living in deep forests in mountainous districts, 

 the male bird usually alone, and the female with her brood apart from 

 others. The toes of these sections have their tinder-surface rough and 

 scabrous, with a pectinated or tooth-like row of processes on each side, 

 which enal.lcs them to trend more firmly (.11 the slip]" TV ground or fro/en 



