424 
P A V O. 
months old, they will eat wheat, barley, the dregs of 
cyder and perry, and crop the tender grafs. It is ob- 
ferved, that on the firft days after hatching, the mother 
never leads her young to the ordinary neft, or even fits 
with them twice in the fame place ; and as they are deli¬ 
cate, and cannot mount on the trees, they are expofed to 
many accidents. At this time therefore we ought to 
watch them clofely, and difcover where the mother re¬ 
forts, and put the brood in a coop, or in the field in a 
patch inclofed with hurdles. Till they grow flout, the 
young peacocks trail their wings, and make no ufe of 
them. In their early eflays to fly, the mother takes them 
every evening one after another on her back, and carries 
them to the branch on which they are to pafs the night. 
In the morning, (he defcends before them from the tree, 
and encourages them by her example to truft themfelves 
to their (lender pinions. A pea-hen, or even a common 
hen, can breed twenty-five young peacocks, according to 
Columella ; but only fifteen, according to Palladius : 
and this laft number is even too great for cold countries, 
where they muft be warmed from time to time, and (hel- 
tered under the mother’s wing. 
When the brood are a month old, or a little more, the 
creft begins to (hoot, and then they are fubjeX to ficknefs, 
like young turkeys in fimilar circumftances. At this 
time the parent cock adopts them as his offspring; for, 
before the growth of the creft, he drives them away as 
fuppofititious. The creft confilts of twenty-four fmall 
feathers, of which the (haft is not furniflied with webs, 
but befet with little (lender detached threads ; the top 
is formed by a bunch of ordinary feathers united toge¬ 
ther, and painted with the richeft colours. The creft is 
not an inverted cone, as might be fuppofed : its bafe, 
which is uppermoft, forms a very extenfive ellipfe, whofe 
greater axis is in the direction of the head ; all the feathers 
that compofe it have a particular and perceptible motion, 
by which they approach each other, or recede, at will, 
and alfo a general motion, by which the whole creft is 
fometimes ereXed, fometimes reclined. The tail-feathers, 
or rather thofe long coverts that are inferted in the back 
near the rump, are on a great fcale what thofe of the creft 
are on a Imall one. The (haft is equally furniflied, from 
its origin to its extremity, with parted filaments of a va¬ 
rying colour, and it ends in a flat vane, decorated with 
what is called the eye, or the mirror. This is a brilliant 
fpot, enamelled with the mod enchanting colours ; yellow 
gilded with many (hades, green running into blue and 
bright violet, according to the different pofitions ; and 
the whole receives additional luftre from the colours of 
the centre, which is a fine velvet black. The two feathers 
in the middle are each four feet and a half long, and ex¬ 
tend beyond the reft, the others gradually diminilhing 
as they approach the fides. The creft is permanent ; but 
the tail is call every year, either entirely or in part, about 
the end of July, and (hoots again in the fpring; during 
which interval the bird is difpirited and feeks retirement, 
as before noticed. This beautiful train, or, more cor- 
reXly fpeaking, falfe tail, may be expanded quite to a 
perpendicular upwards, at the will of the bird. The true 
tail is hid beneath this group of brilliant feathers, and 
confifts of eighteen grey-brown feathers, one foot and a 
half long, marked on the fides with rufous grey : the fca- 
pulars and fmaller wing-coverts are reddifti cream-colour, 
variegated with black: the middle coverts deep blue, 
glofled with green gold. The predominant colour of the 
head, throat, neck, and bread, is blue, with different re¬ 
flexions of violet, yellow, andducid green ; and by means 
of thefe waving (hades, nature can fpread a greater va¬ 
riety of colouring on the fame fpace. On each fide of the 
head, there is a protuberance formed by fmall feathers, 
which cover the perforation of the external ear. The 
common peacock is reprefented on the annexed Plate. 
The female is lefs than the male. The train is very 
fhort, much more fo than the tail 5 fcarcely longer than 
its coverts, and the feathers not furniflied with eyes; the 
creft on the head the fame; the fides of the head have a 
greater portion of white ; the throat and neck green ; the 
reft of the body and wings cinereous brown ; the bread 
fringed with white ; the bill the fame ; irides lead-colour; 
the legs, in both male and female, are (lout, cluinfy, and 
of a dirty grey colour; that of the male is furniflied with 
a fpur near an inch long; but the fpur is wanting in the 
females ; though in fome a rudiment of one is feen. In 
fome male birds the whole of the wing-coverts and fca- 
pulars are of a fine deep blue green, very gloffy ; but the 
outer edge of the wing and quills are of the ufual co¬ 
lour. 
Though peacocks cannot fly much, they are fond of 
climbing. They generally pafs the night on the roofs of 
lioufes, where they do a great deal of mifchief, and on the 
loftieft trees. From thefe elevated ftations, they often 
fcream ; and their cry is univerfally allowed to be difa- 
greeable. It is faid that the female has only one note, 
which (he feldom utters except in the fpring, while the 
male has three. Theophraftus fays, that their cry, if 
often reiterated, forebodes rain ; others, that they fora- 
tel it when they fcramble higher than ordinary; while 
others allege, that thefe cries forebode the death of a 
neighbour. The term of the life of a peacock is generally 
allowed to be twenty-five years; but Willoughby ima¬ 
gines, on the authority of Aiiian, that the peacock lives 
a complete century. 
As in India the peacocks live in a (late of nature, it is 
ufual in that country to hunt them. They can hardly 
be approached in the day-time, though they are fcattered 
over the fields in numerous flocks; becaufe, as foon as 
they defcry a fportfman, they fly away and conceal them¬ 
felves in the thickets, where they cannot be purfued. 
The night therefore is the only proper time for the chafe, 
which, in the vicinity of Cambaya, is conduced in the 
following manner : The fportfmen get clofe to the tree 
where the peacocks are perched, and prefent a kind of 
banner, which fupports two burning candles; and is 
painted with the figures of peacocks. The peacock daz¬ 
zled by the glare, or engaged in noticing the painted 
birds, ftretches out his neck repeatedly, and again draws 
it back ; and, when the head is obferved to be entangled 
in a running knot or noofe, placed for the purpofe, the 
hunters immediately draw the cord and fecure the bird. 
We have feen that the Greeks much admired the pea¬ 
cock, but this was only for the beauty of their plumage. 
The Romans, who carried every luxury to excels, 
aXually feafted on peacock’s flefti. The orator Horten- 
fius was the firft who ordered it to be ferved up at his 
table ; and, his example being followed, this bird came to 
be fold at a very high price in Rome. The emperors re¬ 
fined on the luxury of their fubjeXs ; and Vitellius and 
Heliogabalus gloried in filling enormous chargers with 
the brains of peacocks, the tongues of the phoenicopterus, 
and the livers of the fcarus, forming infipid dilhes, whofe 
whole merit confided in their deltruXive expence. In 
modern times, that is, in the 16th century, the peacock 
was (till confidered a princely di(h, and the whole bird 
ufed to be ferved on the table with the feathers of the 
neck and tail preferved; but few people could now re- 
lifli fuch food, as it is much coarferthan the flefti of the 
turkey. We are told, however, that Leo X. who was 
very curious in his food, ufed to have faufages made of 
peacocks ; and we are told, moreover, that the peacock is 
valuable as food in the warmer climates, becaufe it keeps 
fweet longer than any other fowl. The Italians have 
given this laconic defcription of the peacock : “ He has 
the plumage of an angel, the voice of a devil, and the 
ftomach of a thief.” Let us obferve that this bird may 
be a true moral emblem of thofe who, with moft alluring 
outward qualities, do not poflefs the much more valua¬ 
ble ones of the heart and mind ; for the peacock is both 
cruel and ftupid. We have feen inftances of the pea-hen 
tolling 
