COMMON PEACOCK. l6S 



ferent light. ^' For my own part/' says the doctor, " I 

 wish the^ bald eagle had not been chosen as the repre- 

 sentative of our country : he is a bird of a bad moral 

 character ; he does not get his living honestly : you may 

 have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too 

 lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the 

 lishing hawk ; and when that diligent bird has at length 

 taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the sup- 

 port of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues 

 him and takes it from him. With all this injustice, h 

 is never in good case ; but, like those among men who 

 live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and 

 often very lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward : the 

 little king-bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him 

 boldly, and drives him out of the district. He is, there- 

 fore, by no means a proper emblem for the brave and 

 honest Cincinnati of America. I am, on this account, 

 not displeased that the figure is not known as the bald 

 eagle, but looks more like a turkey." 



The Americans call this, very improperly, the bald 

 eagle, from its white head ; in its young state, it can 

 scarcely be distinguished from the cinereous eagle of 

 Europe (A. albicella) ; and both are among the most 

 common birds of our menageries. 



The Common Peacock. 

 Pavo cristatusj Linn. 



All that is beauteous in the tints of the rainbow, or 

 i-efulgent in the gems of the earth, and all that is splen- 

 did and dazzling in the feathered nation, is concentrated 

 in this queen of birds ; for the beauty of the peacock is 

 truly feminine. The smallness of the head, adorned with 

 what appears to be an artificial rather than a natural 

 crest, the length and delicacy of her neck, the gentle swell- 

 ing of her breast, and her Argus robe of many tints, 

 — all conspire to give this impression to her beholder ; 

 and yet there are hundreds, nay thousands, who will pass 

 such a paragon of loveliness with no other than an idle 

 M 2 



