262 THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



long. These feathers, which are very stout and stiff, serve to sup- 

 port the train when it is spread out. 



This handsome bird in a state of freedom is an inhabitant of 

 the thick forests of India, and in some parts of that country is very 

 common. To us it would seem strange to meet with thirty or 

 forty wild pea-fowl, all busily engaged in feeding. Yet such a 

 sight is often seen by the traveller as he passes through an Indian 

 jungle. A well-known hunter tells us that he once saw more than 

 twelve hundred of these birds in one enormous flock. 



One reason why they are so abundant is, that in many parts 

 of India the natives look upon them as sacred, treating them 

 with great reverence, and not allowing them to be in any way 

 molested. The pea-fowl soon discover that they are never inter- 

 fered with, and become quite tame, entering the villages without 

 showing any signs of fear, and even roosting upon the roofs of the 

 houses. 



In other districts, however, they are regularly hunted, and 

 sometimes in a very singular manner. Although the peacock can 

 fly very well, its heavy body and long train prevent it from rising 

 into the air very quickly. The hunter, therefore, mounting a swift 

 horse, arms himself only with a whip to which a very long lash is 

 attached. When he catches sight of a peacock, he gallops towards 

 it at full speed, and strikes at the bird with his whip as it rises 

 into the air. The long lash, of course, curls round its neck like 

 a noose, and before the bird can break away the hunter has hauled 

 it down and secured it. 



Another way of hunting the peacock is to shoot it as it is 

 roosting at night, or during the heat of the day. But the hunter 

 is obliged to approach it with the greatest caution, as, if one of the 

 birds be alarmed, it utters a loud warning cry, which is at once 

 understood by its companions; and the whole flock instantly take 

 to flight. 



Peacock-hunting, too, is a somewhat dangerous sport, as the 

 thick jungle to which the bird retreats at night is also the favourite 

 hiding-place of the tiger. Peacocks, however, are greatly afraid of 

 this animal, and often warn the hunter of its proximity by the loud 

 frightened screams which they utter as they hastily make their 



