PEACOCKS. 
The Peacock is an Asiatic bird, the ordinary species being found chiefly in 
India, and the Javanese Peacock in the country from which it derives its name. 
In some parts of India the Peacock is extremely common, flocking together in 
bands of thirty or forty in number, covering the trees with their splendid 
plumage, and filling the air with their horridly dissonant voices. Captain 
Williamson, in his “ Oriental Eield Sports/' mentions that he has seen at least 
twelve or fifteen hundred peacocks within sight of the spot where he stood. 
These birds are great objects of sport, and are mostly killed by the gun, 
though a good rider may sometimes run them down by fair chase. The Peacock 
takes some little preparation to get on the wing, and if hard pressed is not able 
to rise into the air. The horseman then strikes at the bird with his long lashed 
whip, so as to get the lash round its neck, and soon masters the beautiful quarry. 
Peacock-shooting, although an exciting sport, is a dangerous one ; the tiger 
feeling himself suited by the rhur and other vegetation in which the Peacock 
delights, so that an experienced sportsman may suddenly find himself face to face 
with a tiger, and run a strong chance of being himself the object of pursuit. 
Old hunters, however, who know the habits of the Peacock, find that bird 
extremely useful in denoting the presence of tigers. When the Peacock finds 
itself in close proximity to a tiger, or even a wild cat, it raises the sound of 
alarm, which is a loud hoarse cry, answered by those within hearing. The bird 
then utters a series of sharp, quick, grating notes, and gets higher into the trees, 
so as to be out of the reach of the tiger's claws. 
In this country the Peacock is very common, and forms a magnificent addition 
to the lawn, the park, the garden, and the farmyard. The evident admiration 
and self-consciousness with which a Peacock regards himself are truly amusing, 
the bird always looking out for spectators before it spreads its train, and turning 
itself round and round, so as to display its beauties to the best advantage. At 
night it always roosts in some elevated spot, and invariably sits with its head 
facing the wind. Several Peacocks, whom I used to see daily, always roosted 
upon the thatch of a corn-rick, their long trains lying along the thatch so closely 
that towards dark they could hardly be seen. In character, the Peacock is as 
variable as other creatures, some individuals being mild and good-tempered, while 
others are morose and jealous to the extreme. 
On the head of the Peacock is a tuft or aigrette of twenty-four upright feathers, 
blackish upon their almost naked shafts, and rich golden green shot with blue 
on their expanded tips. The top of the head, the throat and neck, are the most 
refulgent blue, changing, in different lights, to gold and green. On the back the 
feathers are golden green, edged with velvety black. 
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