Order  V.  GALLING. 
The  third  Family, 
PHASIANID  E,  or  Pheasants, 
have  the  Bill  moderate,  with  the  culmen  arched  to  the  tip,  which  overhangs  that  of  the  lower  mandible, 
and  the  sides  compressed ;  the  "Wings  moderate  and  much  rounded  ;  the  Tail  more  or  less  lengthened 
and  broad  ;  the  Tarsi  moderate,  usually  armed  with  a  spur  or  spurs  ;  the  Toes  moderate,  the  anterior 
ones  united  at  their  base  by  a  membrane  ;  the  hind  toe  short  and  elevated. 
The  first  Subfamily, 
PAVONINE,  or  Peacocks, 
have  the  Tail  and  its  coverts  much  developed  and  depressed. 
Pavo  Linn.* 
Bill  moderate,  with  the  base  of  the  culmen  elevated,  the  apical  half  vaulted  and  arched  to  the  tip,  and 
the  sides  compressed  ;  the  nostrils  basal,  lateral,  with  the  opening  longitudinal.  Wings  short  and 
rounded,  with  the  sixth  quill  the  longest.  Tail  long  and  rounded,  with  the  coverts  much  lengthened,  and 
extending  beyond  the  end  of  the  tail.  Tarsi  longer  than  the  middle  toe,  covered  in  front  with  transverse 
scales,  and  armed  with  a  conical  spur.  Toes  moderate,  the  anterior  ones  united  at  their  base  by  a 
membrane,  and  the  lateral  ones  unequal. 
These  splendid  birds  inhabit  various  parts  of  India,  Thibet,  and  some  of  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  They 
abound  most  in  the  woody  districts,  in  the  low  jungles  and  even  in  the  gardens,  in  which  they  seek  their  food.  The 
severe  cold  of  the  mountainous  parts  of  Northern  India  does  not  hurt  them,  but  only  causes  them  to  ascend  to  higher 
branches  than  those  which  they  occupy  in  warmer  regions  when  they  retire  to  rest.  The  male  is  three  years  old 
before  it  attains  the  full  developement  of  the  caudal  coverts.  Towards  the  end  of  the  monsoon,  the  nest  is  formed 
among  the  thickest  shrubs,  or  on  high  garden  walls  or  roofs.  When  the  young  are  bred  in  an  elevated  nest,  they  are 
said  to  be  placed  sitting  on  the  back  by  the  parent,  and  so  carried  to  the  ground. 
1.  P.  cristatus  Linn.  PL  enl.  433,  434.  |      3.  ?  P.  assamensis  M'Clell.  Ind.  Rev.  1838.  513. 
2.  P.  muticus  (Linn.)    Shaw,  Nat.  Misc.  pi.  641.  —  Pavo  spi- 
ciferus  Vieill.  Gal.  des  Ois.  t.  202.  ;   P.  Aldrovandi  Wils.  111.  Zoo',  j 
pi.  14,  15. ;  P.javanicus  Horsf.;  P.  japonensis  Briss. 
*  Established  by  Linnaeus  in  1735. 
