1HE PEACOCK. 



Domestic Tut key 



Peacock. 



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Tins magnificent bird is originally from Asia, but has been domesticated in England for many years. 

 Some suppose that it was first brought from India by Alexander, and by him introduced into Eiiropc. 

 The magnificent plumes that adorn the Peacock are not the tail, as many suppose, but the tail-coverts. 

 The tail feathers themselves are short and rigid, and serve to keep the train expanded, as may be seen 

 when the bird walks about in all the majesty of his expanded plumage. 



Although Pea-fowls seek their food on the ground, they invariably roost on some elevated situation, such 

 as a high branch, or the roof of a barn, or haystack. When the bird is perched on the roof, its train lies 

 along the thatch, and is quite invisible in the dusk. 



In the times of chivalry, a roasted Peacock, still clothed in its plumage, and with its train displayed, 

 formed one. of the chief ornaments of the regal board. The nest of this bird is made of sticks and 

 leaves rudely thrown together, and contains from twelve to fifteen eggs. The young do not attain their 

 full plumage until the third year, and only the males possess the vivid tints and lengthened train, the 

 female being a comparatively ordinary bird. A white variety of the Peacock is not uncommon. In 

 this case, the eyes of the train feathers are slightly marked with a kind of a neutral tint. 



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