2 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
We find ourselves with such a mass of raw material that a 
_ full discussion of the distribution in time and space of the Fowl 
would take up far too much time. We shall therefore start 
our investigations at or about the fifth century B.c., when the 
bird was abundant throughout the known world, and work 
backwards from this date. Ornithologists have for so many 
years drawn their ideas of the Fowl’s history from ancient 
Greek literature that it seems almost sacrilege to doubt these 
old authorities. Although the Greek writers have little informa- 
tion that could be used in the present. discussion, we insert a few 
details here. Homer, for instance, mentions a man called 
‘‘ Alektron,’’ and this scanty note appears to carry the history 
of the bird back a long way.* Aristophanes, who lived about 
B.c. 450, mentions the Cock once or twice, and refers to it 
(1. 883) as of ‘‘ Persian parentage” (opus a9’ nudv tod yéevous Tov 
Ilepoixov), and as an ancient ruler of that country (1. 483). He 
mentions also the tetpao (1. 882), and ina note to Rogers’s edition . 
of ‘ The Birds’ reference is made to a passage in the Ninth Book 
of Athenzus (58), in which this tetrao is described as ‘‘ about the 
size of a Rook (? onepuoroyw is the word), of a brick colour, 
mottled with divers spots and large stripes; it feeds on fruits, 
and when it lays an egg it cackles.” Laurentius (who in 
Athenzus quotes the above description from the second work on 
winged creatures by Alexander the Myndian) calls this the 
‘small tetrao”’; he has a specimen of the ‘‘ large tetrao”’ out- 
side, and brings it in for his guests to admire. It is ‘‘ like the 
Porphyrion....and from its ears it had wattles hanging .... 
and a harsh voice.”’ . 
Quite clearly we have here descriptions of the male and 
female of the Fowl passing as two distinct birds, and this 
example serves to demonstrate the unreliability of Greek orni- 
thology. Laurentius, it may be added, is quite sure his ¢etrao 
is not the Persian bird of Aristophanes! Of course, every 
naturalist will know that the wattles and the curious habit of 
cackling after oviposition do not belong to any member of the 
present family T'ctraonide. ) 

** Dr. Leaf, in his important edition of the ‘ Iliad’ (1900), gives reasons 
for holding this word EHlectryon (Book xvii. 602) to be unconnected with the 
Cock (ef. vol. i1. 256, and also i. 294), 
