AN BSSA Y ON LONGEVITY. 69 



31. The peacock lives twenty years, but he comes 

 not forth with his argus eyes before he be three years 

 old ; a bird slow of pace, having whitish flew. 



32. The dunghill cock is venereous, martial, and but 

 of a short life ; a crank bird, having also white flesh. 



33. The Indian cock, commonly called the turkey 

 cock, lives not much longer than the dunghill cock ; 

 an angry bird, and hath exceeding white flesh. 



34. The ringdoves are of the longest sort of livers; 

 insomuch that they attain sometimes to fifty years of 

 age ; an airy bird, and both builds and sits on high. 

 But doves and turtles are but short lived, not exceed- 

 ing eight years. 



35. But pheasants and partridges may live to six- 

 teen years. They are great breeders, but not so 

 white of flesh as the ordinary pullen. 



36. The blackbird is reported to be, amongst the 

 lesser birds, one of the longest livers ; an unhappy 

 bird, and a good singer. 



■^J. The sparrow is noted to be of a very short life ; 

 and it is imputed in the males to their lasciviousness. 

 But the linnet, no bigger in body than the sparrow, 

 hath been observed to have lived twenty years. 



38. Of the ostrich we have nothing certain ; those 

 that were kept here have been so unfortunate, that no 

 long life appeared by them. Of the bird ibis we find 

 only that he liveth long, but his years are not recorded. 



39. The age of fishes is more uncertain than that 

 of terrestrial creatures, because living under the water 



