CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS. 
187 
exactly intermediate between the Jungle Fowl and the 
Pheasant: these are the pretty Kaleeges ( Gallophasis ), 
birds which appear destined some day to have a place in 
our poultry-yards, or to rank in our parks side by side 
with the Pheasant, 
According to the Bible, it was Solomon’s fleet that 
introduced the Peacock (. Pavo cristatus ) from its home 
into Palestine, Whether it was further spread from there 
is a question. It is more probable that we are indebted 
to Alexander the Great’s ornithological tastes for the 
introduction of this beautiful bird into Europe. It is 
said of this extraordinary man, that he positively loved 
this bird, and inflicted heavy punishments on any that 
destroyed it. Other varieties of the Peacock are to be 
found in Lower India and the Sunda Islands, countries 
which are exceptionably rich in Rasores, or Scraping- 
birds. The most wonderful of all Fowls—the Argus 
Pheasant ( Argusanius giganteus )—belongs to these districts ; 
so, too, the closely-allied Peacock Pheasants (. Polyplectron ), 
birds in which the full splendour of the East Indies 
appears to be reflected. 
All Gallinaceous birds are true types of the soil on 
which they live; their colours harmonize with it, and 
are represented in their plumage. Thus, the Monaul 
of the Himalayas .( Lophophorus refulgens ) is the very 
picture of the splendid richness of colouring, which is to 
be found in its home. On the heights of those sublime 
ranges—birth-place of two amongst the mightiest of' 
streams honoured by deity, at the base of the highest 
pinnacle of the earth—the plumage of this bird scintil¬ 
lates and flashes, so as to be only inferior in its splendour 
to those colours that are kindled into life by the sun, and 
which are reflected in the bird; while it surpasses all its 
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