114 HISTORY or 



CHAP. III. 



OF THE PEACOCK. 



The Peacock, by the common people of Italy, is said to have 

 the plumage of an angel, the voice of the devil, and the guts of 

 a thief. In fact, each of these qualities mark pretty well the 

 nature of this extraordinary bird. When it appears with its tail 

 expanded, there is none of the feathered creation can vie with it 

 for beauty ; yet the horrid scream of its voice serves to abate the 

 pleasure we find from Wewing it ; and still more its insatiable 

 gluttony, and spirit of depredation, make it one of the most nox- 

 ious domestics that man has taken under his protection. 



Our first peacocks were brought from the East Indies ; and 

 we are assured, that they are still found in vast flocks, in a wild 

 state, in the islands of .Java and Ceylon. So beautiful a bird, 

 and one esteemed such a delicacy at the tables of the luxurious, 



similar to the common cocks and hens. The legs are in general very short ; 

 and the general size varies in different individuals ; some are as large as the 

 crow, others do not exceed the pigeon in bulk. The majority have the toes 

 feathered ; some sub-races have the comb double, others single ; some carry 

 the wings so low, that they trail along the ground. The colours of the 

 plumage vary. 



There is a multitude more of the races of oiu- domestic cock, whose varia. 

 tions from that species, and from the varieties now described, do not appear 

 of sufficient importance to demand a distinct enumeration. Of those species 

 which may be considered distinct in the genus, are the Jago Cock {Galltis 

 Giganteus). This bird lives in a wild state, in the forests of the southern 

 part of the Island of Sumatra ; it is also found in the western portions of the 

 Island of Java. Dampier and Marsden have noticed it. The last, who 

 speaks of it very succinctly, says, that lie saw a c«ck of this species, which, 

 standing on the floor of an apartment, reached easily to the dinner-table 

 with his bill ; when this bird was fatigued, he rested himself on the first 

 articulation of the leg, and, even then, was taller than our domesti* 

 cock. From this cock, and from the Bankiva, another primitive cock, found 

 in the island of Java, M. Temminck considers our common cock to have 

 originated. 



The Paduan cocks, and the hens of Sanse^arre, {Callus Patavinus), seem 

 to approach the nearest to this Jago species, and may bo cnnsidered as varie- 

 ties or descendants of it. Tliis race is almost double the size of our domes- 

 tic cocks and hens ; their voice is strong and hoarse; and the weight is 

 eight or ten pounds. To this race may also be referred the great cocks of 

 Rhodes, of Persia, and of Pegu ; and the large hens of Bahia, mentioned by 

 Dampier. Among other species of the cock are — the wild cock of Sonnerat 

 —the negro cock, so called from its black crest— the silk cock— the crieped 

 cock, &c.— all inhabitants of Asia. 



