CHAPTER II. 



Peafowl and Jungle-Fowl. 



As these two geneia are so well known and so 

 easily recognised, it is just as well to begin with 

 them, although they have no special relationship 

 to each other beyond belonging to the same family. 

 But it is always best to proceed to the unknown 

 from the known, and a consideration of the generic 

 arid specific characters of these familiar birds will 

 prepare us for the study of the other groups of the 

 family. 



In the case of the birds now under consideration 

 the characters of the genera are particularly well 

 marked and recognisable. To take the peafowl 

 first. By ' ' peafowl ' ' we understand birds having 

 the general characteristics of the Pheasant family 

 as described above, with the addition of certain 

 peculiarities of their own — ^large size, small-crested 

 heads with bare faces, long necks and legs, and, in 

 the males, the upper tail coverts, or feathers of the 

 lower part of the back, of a loose filamentous tex- 

 ture and of enormous length, reaching several feet 

 beyond the tail itself, which is of quite ordinary 

 structure. The males are spurred, and sometimes 

 the females also. 



Peafowl are polygamous in their habits, several 

 females associating with one male, who displays 

 himself to them by " spreading out his tail," i.e., 

 erecting and spreading his upper tail-coverts with 



