GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 253 



any one's way through 100 yards of such stuff. I have, however," says the same writer, "kept these 

 Peacock Pheasants in captivity, which they appear to bear tolerably well, but never become 

 thoroughly tame. They were incessantly uttering a soft, low cluck, but emitted at times a cry or 

 crow, being the same cluck loudly and rapidly repeated." 



Two males of this species were sent by the Baba Rajendra Malhik to the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1857, and another pair in 1863, of which the female died; another female was obtained 

 in 1864, which bred several times, and thus many particulars concerning their economy were learned. 

 " Thus we know," says Mr. Sclater, " that two or three broods in a year are produced by the same pair, 

 and are often covered by her tail, that the normal number of eggs is two, and that they are peculiarly 

 delicate in form and colour, assimilating very closely to those of the Golden Pheasant ( Thauniaka picta) 

 — they are of a cream-colour, or buffy white, nearly two inches long, by one inch and seven-sixteenths 

 broad." 



Mr. Ellis, in his monograph on the Phasianidm, states that Mr. Bartlett, superintendent of the 

 Zoological Gardens, London, told him that the first time the young of this species were hatched 

 in the Gardens, a Bantam Hen was employed as a foster mother, and the chicks would follow close 

 behind her, never coming in front to take food, so that in scratching the ground she frequently struck 

 them with her feet. The reason for the young keeping behind was not understood, until on a 

 subsequent occasion two chicks were reared by a hen Chinquis, when it was observed that they 

 always kept in the same manner behind the mother, who held her tail widely spread, tlius completely 

 covering them, and there they continually remained out of sight, only running forward when called by 

 the hen to pick up some food she had found, and then immediately retreating to their shelter. It was 

 thus rendered evident that the young, in following the Bantam Hen, were simply obeying the instincts 

 of their nature, although the upright tail of their foster mother failed to afford them the protection 

 which they would have found had they been reared by a female of their own species. 



The PEACOCKS {Pavones) are distinguished from all other members of their family by the 

 superiority of their size, and the extraordinary development of the feathers of the upper tail-covers. 

 Their bodies are powerful ; the neck moderately long, head small, wings short, and legs high ; the 

 beak is strong, arched at its culmen and hooked at the tip ; and the foot of the male is armed with 

 a spur. The crown of the head is adorned with a crest, formed either of long and slender or short 

 bearded feathers. The region of the eye is bare. These fine birds only attain their full beauty 

 when three years old. 



The Peacock is a native of the East Indies and Ceylon, and is represented in Assam, the Sunda 

 Islands, and Japan by the Favo tiigripennis. Ail the members of this glorious group frequent woods 

 and jungle, preferring mountainous districts. On the Neilgherries and mountains of Southern India 

 the Favo cristatus is frequently met with at an altitude of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea ; but it is 

 not found in the Himalayas. 



Williamson tells us that these splendid creatures abound chiefly in well-wooded localities, where 

 there is an extent of long grass for them to range jn. They are very thirsty birds, and will only remain 

 where they can have free access to water. "About the passes in the Jungleterry districts," continues 

 the same authority, " I have seen such quantities of Pea Fowls as have absolutely surprised me. Whole 

 woods were covered with their beautiful plumage, to which a rising sun imparted additional brilliancy. 

 Thesmall patches of plain among the long grass, most of them cultivated, and with mustard then in bloom, 

 which induced the birds to feed, added beauty to the scene ; and I speak within bounds when I assert 

 that there could not be less than twelve or fifteen hundred Pea Fowls of various sizes within sight of the 

 spot where I stood for more than an hour." When on the wing they fly heavily, generall}' widiin an easy 



