PA VO CBISTATTJS. 
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beyond Tirai, as far as MuUaittivu, and northward of that place to the Jaffna Lake, is the home of the Peacock 
in that part of Ceylon ; and from the sea-board it seems to extend inwards in many places, as it is found in the 
forest bordering some of the tanks in the heart of the Vanni. On the opposite coast, from Jaffna down to 
Manaar, and as far south as the Puttalam district, it is likewise tolerably plentiful, but confined there to 
certain localities. Mr. Parker records it from Uswewa and from the Anaradliapura district ; but in such central 
localities it is not nearly so common as on the sea-board. It is found, I believe, on the banks of the Maha- 
welliganga up to its outflow from the eastern ranges, but I do not know of its ever having been obtained 
anywhere in the hills themselves. 
Jerdon tells us that the Peafowl inhabits the whole of India proper ; but it appears to be local in its distri- 
bution, keeping to forest and well-wooded districts. According to him it ascends the Nilghiri and othei 
South-Indian ranges to an altitude of G000 feet, but not the Himalayas above 2000 feet. It is somewhat 
noteworthy that it affects such elevated districts, when it is strictly a low-country bird in Ceylon ; in fact it 
seems to prefer hills to flat country in many parts of India, probably, however, because the latter is, to a great 
extent, either under cultivation or too bare to harbour it. Mr. Ball found it abundant in the hilly paits of 
Chota Nagpur, as also in the Orissa tributary state of Mohurbanj, to the south of the Province, where it is 
revered and consequently strictly preserved from molestation. The same writer, in his recent paper (Str. 
Feath. 1878, vol. vii.), records it from the Rajmelial hills, Sambalpur and Orissa, north of the Mahanadi, and 
likewise from Nowagarh, Karial, and Jaipur. Mr. Ilume notes it from Raipur in the Central Provinces. In 
the north-west of the empire it is found everywhere in Rajputana and Guzerat where there is cover, for it is 
held sacred and protected by the natives. Captain Butler says that it abounds in the jungles at the base of 
Mt. Aboo, and remarks that in the neighbourhood of villages it is quite domestic in its habits. It does not 
extend into Sindh. 
In the Deccan Messrs. Davidson and Wender say that it is common in suitable localities ; and in the 
Khandala district it is found, according to the Rev. Dr. Fairbank, in wooded hills and ravines, but is not 
abundant; he likewise records it from the northern base of the Palani hills, and Mr. Elwes notes it from the 
Cardamum hills in Travancore. In the central portions of Upper India, Messrs. Anderson, Marshall, and others 
all bear testimony to its distribution and abundance in some parts of that region. 
It has been sought to introduce the Peacock into some places with a view to turning it out as a wild bird ; 
and as such it appears to have existed in St. Helena ; but Mr. Melliss writes (Ibis, 1870, p. 103) that the 
farmers found it so destructive to their gardens, that they took every opportunity of killing it ; consequently, 
about half a century ago, they were exterminated.” 
The habits of the Peacock are perhaps too well known to necessitate my writing much on the subject ; but 
as many of my readers have had no acquaintance with this beautiful bird in its wild state, it will not be out of 
place for me to say something on that head. As an inhabitant of its native wilds it is an extremely waiy 
bird, although, as we have seen, when it is strictly protected and induced thereby to frequent the neighbour- 
hood of villages, it becomes the reverse of shy. Mr. Adam bears testimony to its instinct in this matter when 
he writes concerning it in Rajputana that the parent birds keep their young after being hatched well out of 
sight, “ but as they grow up, no danger being anticipated, the young are brought on to the roads and about the 
temples without fear.” In Ceylon it inhabits, by choice, forest-groves (consisting of large trees, combined with 
underwood) in the vicinity of secluded open places, in which it loves to feed in the early morning, rejoicing in 
the complete retirement afforded it by these wild haunts ; it also affects the dense low jungle clothing the 
shores of the Eastern Province, coming out to feed on the grassy borders of rivers and salt lakes. In these 
localities it is most difficult to shoot, for it threads its way through the scrub with marvellous rapidity, 
decamping at the least sound of a footstep on the dry grass. On taking alarm, it will stealthily enter the 
jungle; and if a rush be made to the spot in hopes of getting a running shot, the sportsman will be suiprised 
to find that his “ game” has entirely disappeared, sounds of its retiring footsteps, far beyond the range of his 
vision into the thicket in front of him, being the only sign of the fine bird which he has just seen, and will not 
see again that morning ! I have watched one from a distance, threading its way through a number of isolated 
clumps of scrub on the borders of a salt lagoon in the Kirinde district, and been surprised to notice how 
quickly it got over the ground, its long beautiful train whisking from side to side as it avoided the stumps and 
