PAVO CEISTATUS. 733 



beyond Tirai, as far as Mullaittivu, and northward of that place to the Jaffna Lake, is the home of the Peacock 

 in that part of Ceylon ; and from the sea-board it seems to extend inwards in many places, as it is found in the 

 forest bordering some of the tanks in the heart of the Vanni. On the opposite coast, from Jaffna down to 

 Manaar, and as far south as the Puttalam district, it is likewise tolerably plentiful, but confined there to 

 certain localities. Mr. Parker records it from Uswewa and from the Anaradhapura district ; but in such central 

 localities it is not nearly so common as on the sea-board. It is found, I believe, on the banks of the Maha- 

 welliganga up to its outflow from the eastern ranges, but I do not know of its ever having been obtained 

 anywhere in the hills themselves. 



Jerdon tells us that the Peafowl inhabits the whole of India proper ; but it appears to be local in its distri- 

 bution, keeping to forest and well-wooded districts. According to him it ascends the Nilghiri and other 

 South-Indian ranges to an altitude of 6000 feet, but not the Himalayas above 2000 feet. It is somewhat 

 noteworthy that it affects such elevated districts, when it is strictly a low-country bird in Ceylon ; in fact it 

 seems to prefer hills to flat country in many parts of India, probably, however, because the latter is, to a great 

 extent, either under cultivation or too bare to harbour it. Mr. Ball found it abundant in the hilly parts of 

 Chota Nagpur, as also in the Orissa tributary state of Mohurbanj, to the south of the Province, where it is 

 revered and consequently strictly preserved from molestation. The same writer, in his recent paper (Str. 

 Feath. 1878, vol. vii.), records it from the Rajmehal hills, Sambalpur and Orissa, north of the Mahanadi, and 

 likewise from Nowagarh, Karial, and Jaipur. Mr. Hume notes it from Raipur in the Central Provinces. In 

 the north-west of the empire it is found everywhere in Rajputana and Guzerat where there is cover, for it is 

 held sacred and protected by the natives. Captain Butler says that it abounds in the jungles at the base of 

 Mt. Aboo, and remarks that in the neighbourhood of villages it is quite domestic in its habits. It does not 

 extend into Sindh. 



In the Deccan Messrs. Davidson and Wender say that it is common in suitable localities ; and in the 

 Khandala district it is found, according to the Rev. Dr. Fairbank, in wooded hills and ravines, but is not 

 abundant ; he likewise records it from the northern base of the Palani hills, and Mr. Elwes notes it from the 

 Cardamum hills in Travancore. In the central portions of Upper India, Messrs. Anderson, Marshall, and others 

 all bear testimony to its distribution and abundance in some parts of that region. 



It has been sought to introduce the Peacock into some places with a view to turning it out as a wild bird ; 

 and as such it appears to have existed in St. Helena ; but Mr. Melliss writes (Ibis, 1870, p. 103) that " the 

 farmers found it so destructive to their gardens, that they took every opportunity of killing it ; consequently, 

 about half a century ago, they were exterminated.''' 



The habits of the Peacock are perhaps too well known to necessitate my writing much on the subject ; but 

 as many of my readers have had no acquaintance with this beautiful bird in its wild state, it will not be out of 

 place for me to say something on that head. As an inhabitant of its native wilds it is an extremely wary 

 bird, although, as we have seen, when it is strictly protected and induced thereby to frequent the neighbour- 

 hood of villages, it becomes the reverse of shy. Mr. Adam bears testimony to its instinct in this matter when 

 he writes concerning it in Rajputana that the parent birds keep their young after being hatched well out of 

 sight, "' but as they grow up, no danger being anticipated, the young are brought on to the roads and about the 

 temples without fear." In Ceylon it inhabits, by choice, forest-groves (consisting of large trees, combined with 

 underwood) in the vicinity of secluded open places, in which it loves to feed in the early morning, rejoicing in 

 the complete retirement afforded it by these wild haunts ; it also affects the dense low jungle clothing the 

 shores of the Eastern Province, coming out to feed on the grassy borders of rivers and salt lakes. In these 

 localities it is most difficult to shoot, for it threads its way through the scrub with marvellous rapidity, 

 decamping at the least sound of a footstep on the dry grass. On taking alarm, it will stealthily enter the 

 jungle; and if a rush be made to the spot in hopes of getting a running shot, the sportsman will be surprised 

 to find that his " game " has entirely disappeared, sounds of its retiring footsteps, far beyond the range of his 

 vision into the thicket in front of him, being the only sign of the fine bird which he has just seen, and will not 

 see again that morning ! I have watched one from a distance, threading its way through a number of isolated 

 clumps of scrub on the borders of a salt lagoon in the Kirinde district, and been surprised to notice how 

 quickly it got over the ground, its long beautiful train whisking from side to side as it avoided the stumps and 



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