PEA AND GUINEA FOWL. 
21 
splendid orange and purple-tipped eollar is spread out to its full extent, 
while the scarlet tail coverts are shown in all their beauty. During the 
whole time, the birds are leaping and dancing round each other, and 
uttering occasionally their peculiar shrill cry.” 
Any fact respecting the age which the golden pheasant or silver 
pheasant {Phasianus nycthemerus) will attain in captivity seems worthy 
of notice. I have known a fine male silver pheasant to live twenty-one 
or twenty-two years. Golden pheasants that I happened to learn the 
age of, did not exceed half that period, though which species can really 
be termed the longer lived, I am unable to state. Such of the latter as 
came under my knowledge died almost instantaneously, and when in 
the highest condition as to flesh and plumage. 
I saw at Glenarm Park some years ago, a brood, the one half of which 
was composed of the full-bred common, and the other half of the full- 
bred silver pheasant. The eggs of the two species were placed under 
and incubated by a “ barn-door ” hen, under whose maternity they had 
thriven very well. The young of both species escaped from the eggs 
on the same day. 
The native country both of the golden and silver pheasant is China. 
The Pea-fowl {Pavo cristatus) is a native of India, where it still 
exists in a wild state. A pair of these birds kept by us for some time 
paid due respect to the hall door by eating there only of bread or 
biscuit (moistened), though at the back door they partook freely of 
potatoes. Mr. Poole observes : — ‘‘ A peacock which belonged to the 
neighbour of an acquaintance of mine (on whose house the bird roosted) 
had both his eyes picked out in one of his quarrels. Although total 
blindness was the result, it did not cause the bird to forsake his perch 
on the top of the house : he still succeeded in getting up to the ridge. 
The reasoning power displayed in his manceuvres is worthy of notice. 
In order to be sure of reaching the eave in his flight from the ground, 
he regularly measured his distance from the foot of the wall by care- 
fully stepping it, when he knew that by flying up at his accustomed 
angle he could reach the eave without any danger of striking against 
the wall.” 
The Guinea-fowl or Pintado * {Numida meleagrls)^ was ori- 
ginally brought from Africa (it inhabited Guinea). The late George 
* The Cape Petrel is also called Pintado bird. 
