INDIAN PEAFOWL 177 



nothing to do with the nesting or with the rearing of the young birds. But after they 

 are well grown the family reunites. This, I believe, is true, for a cock, several hens and 

 a few half-grown birds is not an unusual sight, and such association would be the 

 natural result of a reunion, but hardly the acceptance into the flock of a strange cock. 



The site of the nest varies almost as much as the general haunts of this widely 

 distributed bird. The usual position is among tall, dense grass, or, as in the case which 

 I have detailed, in a clump of shrubbery. I have never heard of a nest in thick jungle, 

 but often the low, semi-marshy borders of ponds or small creeks are chosen. Unusual 

 sites have been recorded, such as on the summit of the stubs of tree-trunks, the deserted 

 nest of a vulture, the roofs of old native huts and the grass-grown tops of ruined 

 masonry mosques. On the ground no nest is made. A hollow is sometimes scraped 

 out and the eggs deposited on the bare clay or sand, or if the spot is in a natural 

 depression, the debris of dead grass and leaves is allowed to remain. The site often 

 reflects the general conditions under which the bird lives. Where it is protected by 

 religious opinion, little care is taken to conceal the nest, and in some cases the eggs 

 have been found deposited among short grass, and visible some distance away. But 

 where it bears no charmed life it uses the utmost ingenuity in hiding its nesting site. 



Either there is great variation in the number of eggs laid, or two hens not 

 infrequently lay in the same nest. I believe this is far from a common occurrence, both 

 among Peahens and peacock pheasants. Two is so universally and normally the 

 number in the latter species, that the record of four and six is almost unique, if not 

 indeed the joint product of two birds. Of twenty-three definite and almost an equal 

 number of more general records concerning the number of Peafowl eggs, the majority 

 agree on four to eight, with six as the average. Two or three authentic records of ten 

 to fifteen, both in north and south India, have been sent to me, and these I consider 

 double layings. I know of three instances of this occurring in domestic birds. In each 

 case the two hens made their nest together, and sat alternately until the full complement 

 was laid. In two of these cases the eggs numbered nine and twelve respectively. In 

 the case of the latter number one hen sat continuously, and after several unsuccessful 

 attempts to crowd her off, the second bird gave it up, wandered about with the cock for 

 a week or two, and ultimately made a nest of her own, laying and incubating five eggs. 

 By removing the eggs as laid, as many as thirty-seven have been obtained from two 

 hens. In the wild state it is improbable that a third set is ever deposited, even when 

 the first two are destroyed early in the season. If the first attempt is successful, there is 

 never a second brood. The length of incubation is exactly four weeks, and any delay or 

 advance is due to irregularity of temperature or constancy in sitting of the parent bird. 



The eggs are large, with thick, strong shells, glossy but thickly pitted with minute 

 pores. In occasional specimens this pitting is almost absent. The usual shape is a broad 

 oval, more or less pointed at the smaller end, but they vary from an elongated oval to a 

 very short, thick shape. The colour is usually uniform as regards any particular set, 

 but while some are almost pure lime white, others may be a rosy buff or cafe au lait 

 colour. About every fifth Qgg will show evidence of reddish-brown spotting, sometimes 

 very conspicuously around the larger end. 



In length they vary from 65 to 76 mm., and in breadth from 49 to 55. The 

 average is 70 by 51 mm. 



VOL. IV A A 



