336 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



quire great care in rearing", and do not obtain their 

 full plumage till the third year. Though rarely 

 brought to the table now, they were in former 

 times considered a delicacy, and made a part of 

 the luxurious entertainments of the Roman volup- 

 tuaries. 



The females sometimes assume the plumage of 

 the male ; this is said to take place after they have 

 done laying. A bird of this kind is preserved in 

 the British Museum. 



White Peacocks are not uncommon in England : 

 the eyes of the train are barely visible, and may be 

 traced by a different undulation of shade upon the 

 pure white of the tail. 



