GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 255 



the Pea-fowl in India varies, according to the locaHty, from April to October ; the eggs, from four 

 to eight or nine, are laid in a secluded spot. 



" In Ceylon," writes Sir Emerson Tennant, "as we emerge from the deep shade and approach the 

 park- like openings on the verge of the low country, numbers of Pea-fowl are to be found, either 

 feeding on the seeds and fallen nuts among the long grass, or sunning themselves on the branches of 

 the surrounding trees. Nothing to be met with in English demesnes can give an adequate idea of the 

 size and magnificence of this matchless bird when seen in its native solitudes. Here he generally 

 selects some projecting branch, from which his plumage may hang free of the foliage ; and if there be 

 a dead and leafeless bough, he is certain to choose it for his resting-place, whence he droops his ^vings 

 and spreads his gorgeous train, or spreads it in the morning sun to drive off the damps and dews of 

 night. In some of the unfrequented portions of the eastern province to which Europeans rarely 

 resort, and where the Pea-fowl are unmolested by the natives, their number is so extraordinary that, 

 regarded as game, it ceases to be sport to destroy them ; and their cries at early dawn are so 

 tumultuous and incessant as to banish sleep, and amount to an actual inconvenience." 



The flesh is excellent when served up hot, though it is said to be indigestible ; when cold it 

 contracts a reddish and disagreeable tinge. 



Among old English dishes for high festivals the Peacock at one time held a notable place, and a 

 "^Prcocfe 4;ul)ak^l " (that is, with the feathers of the tail extended) is mentioned by Fabian as one of the 

 second course dishes at the wedding-feast of Henry VI. In an old manuscript in the Librar)' of the 

 Royal Society is a receipt for the dressing of this noble dish : — " For a feste royal, Pecokkes schol be 

 dight on this manere ; Take and flee off the skin, with the fedures, tayle, and the neck and hed 

 thereon. Then take the sk}Tine and all the fedures, and lay hit on a tabel abrode, and straw 

 thereon grounden comyn. Then take the Pecok and roste him, and endore him with rawe yolkes of 

 eggs ; and when he is rosted take hym off and let h}'m cole a whyle, and take and sowe him in his 

 skynne, and gild his combe, and so serve him forthe with the last cours." 



The flesh of the Peacock is said to be dry, but such a quality must have been amply 

 compensated by the wholesale provision of sauce; as, according to an old play,* among other 

 extravagances enumerated, " The carcasses of three fat wethers were bruised for gravy to make 

 sauce for a single Peacock. 



THE BLACK-WINGED PEACOCK. 

 The Black-winged Peacock {Pavo nigripennis), a very similar species, differs from the above 

 principally in the blackish blue or blueish green feathers on tlie upper wing-covers. The hen has a light 

 grey plumage, spotted with a darker shade. 



THE JAPAN PEACOCK. 

 The Japan Peacock {Pavo nmticus, or Pavo spicifer) far exceeds its congeners in beaut}'. In 

 this bird the body is slender and the foot high. The crest is composed of feathers having broader tips 

 than those in the crest of the Common Peacock. The upper throat and the head are emerald-green ; 

 the feathers of the lower throat are adorned with blueish gi-een spots, having golden edges ; and the 

 emerald-green breast-feathers gleam with gold. The belly is bro^vnish grey, the wing-covers are dark 

 green, the quills brown, marbled with black and grey on the outer web, and the secondary quills black, 

 with a greenish gloss. The long feathers of the upper tail-covers resemble those of die Common Peacock, 

 but are more gorgeous. The eye is greyish brown, the bare region around blueish green, the cheek brownish 

 yellow, the beak black, and the foot grey. The female resembles her mate, but is without the train. 



* " The City Madam," by Massin^er. 



