The Bankiva Cock. BIRDS. The Peacock. .39.9 
to the great elongation of the centi'al tail-feathers. 
Tlie general colour of the plumage is brownish, hut it 
is elegantly spotted and mottled with yellow and black. 
The secondary quills, which are often nearly three 
feet in length, are elegantly marked with a series of 
large ocellated spots, and the tail-feathers are deep 
chestnut, with numerous small white spots, each sur- 
rounded by a black ring. The enormously developed 
wing-feathers of this bird, instead of enabling it to lly 
with great ease and rapidity, are really hindrances to 
its activity in the air. It flies heavily, and only for 
short distances, but runs with great speed, its large 
wings assisting it when progressing with the wind. 
When displaying himself before his females, the male 
Argus Pheasant spreads his wings downwards, much 
in the same manner as the turkey cock. The ocellated 
spots on the secondaries then come into view, and 
give the bird an elegant appearance. 
COCKS. 
THE TRAGOPAH {Ceriornis satyrus) — ^Plate 18, fig. 
C8— or Nepaulese Horned Pheasant, a native of 
Thibet and Nepaul, is a beautiful but somewhat sin- 
gular-looking bird. It is about the size of a large 
fowl, and of a deep red colour, covered with numerous 
white spots, each surrounded by a ring of black. The 
Horned Tragopan is an Alpine sj)ecies, occurring at 
great altitudes on the mountains of Nepaul. Two 
or three other species are known, all from the Hima- 
layan range. 
THE BANKIVA COCK {Gallus Banlcivm)—VM& 18, 
fig. 67 — which is generally believed to be the original 
species of most of our domestic varieties of poultr}', 
will require but little notice. It closely resembles in 
its plumage some of the ordinary dunghill cocks of 
this country, although it is considerably less in size,. 
It is an inhabitant of several islands of the Eastern 
archipelago. This bird appears to have been domes- 
ticated in the east at a very early period, and must 
have been introduced into Europe in very ancient 
times. It was well known to the Greeks and Romans, 
who, like our own people at a very recent period, 
and many eastern nations at the present day, delighted 
in the cruel spectacle of a cock-fight. Several other 
species of the genus Gallus are found in the eastern 
islands, especially Java and Sumatra, and some, 
amongst which is — 
THE JUNGLE FOWL {Gallus Sonneratii), also on 
the continent of India. This is a fine bird, equalling 
in size one of our common domestic fowls. It has a 
large bright red comb and wattles. The general 
colour of its plumage is a golden or reddish-orange, 
with the breast and wings blackish-gray, and the tail 
deep green. But its mo.st singular character consists 
in the dilatation of the apices of the shafts of all the 
long hackles into flat elliptical plates. On the neck 
these are of a golden-orange colour, whilst the barbs 
are gray, so that this part appears covered with golden 
spangles on a gray ground. 
PEACOCKS. 
THE COMMON PEACOCK (Pavo cristatus) a native 
of the forests of continental India, is, perhaps, endowed 
with a more gorgeous plumage than any other bird, 
except a few of his immediate .allies. Nearly all his 
feathers exhibit more or less metallic lustre. The 
crown of his head is adorned with an elegant tuft of 
slender stems, each supporting a small brilliant palette 
at its extremity; his neek and breast are of the deepest 
metallic blue, with surface tints of golden-green ; and 
his tail-coverts, enormously elongated as in the other 
species of this group, form a most magnificent train, 
adorned with hundreds of splendid eye-like spots. 
His general form, also, is exceedingly elegant, and 
when he elevates and spreads his gorgeous train in the 
sun, displaying it in every way, as if conscious of the 
admiration he is exciting, the beholder is constrained 
to admit that there is no creature upon wliich nature 
has lavished her powers of adornment with a more 
unsparing hand. The female is entirely of a sober 
brownish tint. 
In its native regions the Peacock frequents the 
jungles and forests, and feeds upon fruits, seeds, and 
insects. It possesses considerable powers of flight, 
and generally roosts in high trees. The females 
deposit their eggs on a little grass placed on the ground 
among bushes. The voice of the Peacock is exceed- 
ingly harsh and discordant, its cry closely resembling 
the wordpaon, which is its French name. The intro- 
duction of this bird into Europe is ascribed to Alexander 
the Great, but the date at wh.ich it was first brought 
to this country is unknown. Although their flesh is 
dry, and by no means delicate. Peacocks formed a 
favourite dish at great entertainments amongst the 
Romans, and also found a place in the feasts of the 
middle ages, when they were served up in their 
feathers with great pomp. • 
THE JAVANESE PEACOCK {Pavo muticus) is dis- 
tinguished from the preceding species by having the 
plumes of the crest of nearly equal breadth throughout, 
without any naked shaft. It is also less brilliant in its 
colours. It inhabits Java and Sumatra, and likewise 
the continent of India. 
THE ARGUS POLYPLECTRON {Pohjplectron hical- 
caraiura). The Polyplectrons, so named from their 
having two or more spurs on each tarsus, whilst the 
true Peacocks, and all the other Phasianidoe, have 
only one, are further distinguished by the peculiar 
construction of the tail, which has its superior coverts 
considerably elongated, but still, less so than the true 
tail-feathers, of which they cover only about two- 
thirds. The fore part of the head is adorned in these 
birds with a sort of crest formed of elongated feathers. 
These, in the present species, are brownish black ; the 
head and neck are blackish, with the throat nearly 
white ; the upper surface is yellowish-brown, with 
numerous black spots, and with an ocellated spot of a 
fine bluish-green colour at the tip of each feather; the 
lower surface is brown ; the tail is composed of twenty- 
two feathers, which form, wdien expanded, a broad 
rounded fan. These, and the tail-coverts, which con- 
stitute as it were a second tail, extending, as already 
stated, about two-thirds of the length of the true tail- 
feathers, are of a yellowsh-brown colour, mottled with 
black, and all of them bear near the extremity a pair 
of most beautiful green spots, each surrounded by a 
