THE PEACOCK 603 



oird watches the temperature of the mound very carefully : the eggs are generally 

 covered, a cylindrical opening being always maintained in the centre of the circle for 

 the purpose of giving air to them, and probably to prevent the danger of a sudden 

 increase of heat from the action of the sun or accelerated fermentation in the mound 

 itself. In hot days the eggs are nearly uncovered two or three times between morning 

 and evening. 



On the young bird chipping out of the egg, it remains in the mound for at least 

 twelve hours without making any effort to emerge from it, being at that time almost as 

 deeply covered up by the male as the rest of the eggs. 



On the second day it comes out, with each of its wing-feathers well developed in a 

 sheath which soon bursts, but apparently without inclination to use them, its powerful 

 feet giving it ample means of locomotion at once. Early in the afternoon, the young 

 bird retires to the mound again, and is partially covered up for the night by the assiduous 

 father, but at a diminished depth as compared with the circle of eggs from which it 

 emerged in the morning. On the third day, the nestling is capable of strong flight, and 

 on one occasion one of them, being accidentally alarmed, actually forced itself, while on 

 the wing, through the strong netting which covered the inclosure. The accounts of tho 

 habits of the Tallegalla, given by Mr. Gould in his Birds of Australia, in 1842, strange 

 as it appeared at the time, are thus perfectly verified in every respect." 



The general colour of the adult male Talegalla is blackish brown above, and the 

 same on the under surface with a silver grey gloss produced by the grey tips of the 

 back feathers. The cheeks are naked, the head and neck covered with short hair-like 

 feathers of a dark blackish hue, and the front of the neck is furnished with a large 

 naked fleshy wattle, something like that of a turkey, and being of a bright yellow 

 warming into orange-red at its junction with the neck. The bill is black ; the eyes 

 brown chestnut, and the legs and feet dark brown. The male bird is about the size of 

 an ordinary turkey, and the female is about one-fourth less. Her plumage is like 

 that of the male, from which she may be readily distinguished by the smaller size 

 of the wattle. 



THE large family of the Peacocks, or Pavonidae, now claims our attention. For 

 convenience of description, these birds have been separated into several sub-families, 

 which are defined with tolerable certainty. Of the Pavoninae, we shall find two 

 examples in the following pages. 



The PEACOCK may safely be termed one of the most magnificent of the feathered 

 tribe, and may even lay a well-founded claim to the chief rank among birds in splendour 

 of plumage and effulgence of colouring. We are so familiar with the Peacock that we 

 think little of its real splendour ; but if one of these birds had been brought to Europe 

 for the first time, it would create a greater sensation than even the hippopotamus 

 or the gorilla. 



The Peacock is an Asiatic bird, the ordinary species being found chiefly in India, 

 and the Javanese Peacock in the country from which it derives its name. In some parts 

 of India the Peacock is extremely common, flocking together in bands of thirty or forty 

 in number, covering the trees with their splendid plumage, and filling the air with 

 their horridly dissonant voices. Captain Williamson, in his " Oriental Field Sports," 

 mentions that he has seen at least twelve or fifteen hundred peacocks within sight of 

 the spot where he stood. 



These birds are great objects of sport, and are mostly killed by the gun, though a 

 good rider may sometimes run them down by fair chase. The Peacock takes some 

 little preparation to get on the wing, and if hard pressed is not able to rise into the 

 air. The horseman then strikes at the bird with his long lashed whip, so as to get the 

 lash round its neck, and soon masters the beautiful quarry. " When upon the wing," 

 says Captain Williamson, "they fly very heavy and strong, generally within an easy 

 shot. It may reasonably be supposed that they fall very heavy, but if only winged they 

 soon recover, and if not closely pursued will, nine times in ten, disappear. When the 

 poepul berries, or figs, are in season, their flesh is rather bitter ; but when they have fed 



