A large portion of these seem to have left their native woods to crowd
around the dwellings of man, where, subservient to his purpose, they
subsist upon the pickings of the farm-yard, the stable, or the
dung-hill; a cheerful, active race, which enliven and adorn the rural
scene, and require no other care than the fostering hand of the
house-wife to shelter and protect them. Some kinds, such as the
partridge, the pheasant, and the like, are found only in cultivated
places, at no great distance from the habitations of men; and, although
they have not submitted to his dominion, they are nevertheless subject
to his controlling power, and are the objects of his keenest pursuit:
whilst others, taking a wider range, find food and shelter in the
deepest recesses of the woods and forests, sometimes subsisting upon
wild and heathy mountains, or among rocks and precipices the most
difficult of access.
The characters of the gallinaceous genus are generally well known: most
of the species are distinguished above all others for the whiteness of
their flesh; their bodies are large and bulky, and their heads
comparatively small; the bill in all of them is short, strong and
somewhat curved; their wings are short and concave, and scarcely able to
support their bodies, on which account they seldom make long excursions:
their legs are strong, and are furnished with a spur or a knob behind.
Birds of this kind are extremely prolific and lay a great number of
eggs: the young follow the mother as soon as hatched, and immediately
learn to pick up the food, which she is most assiduous in showing them;
on this account she generally makes her nest on the ground, or in places
easy of access to her young brood.
The habitudes of the domestic breed of poultry cannot possibly escape
observation; and every one must have noticed the fierce jealousy of the
cock. It should seem that this jealousy is not confined to his rivals,
but may sometimes extend to his beloved female; and that he is capable
of being actuated by revenge, founded on some degree of reasoning
concerning her conjugal infidelity. An incident which happened at the
seat of Mr. B——, near Berwick, justifies this remark. “My mowers,” says
he, “cut a partridge on her nest, and immediately brought the eggs
(fourteen) to the house. I ordered them to be put under a very large
beautiful hen, and her own to be taken away. They were hatched in two
days, and the hen brought them up perfectly well till they were five or
six weeks old. During that time they were constantly kept confined in an
outhouse, without having been seen by any of the other poultry. The door
happened to be left open, and the cock got in. My housekeeper, hearing
her in distress, ran to her assistance, but did not arrive in time to
save her life; the cock, finding her with the brood of partridges, fell
upon her with the utmost fury, and put her to death. The housekeeper
found him tearing her both with his beak and spurs, although she was
then fluttering in the last agony, and incapable of any resistance. The
hen had been, formerly, the cock’s greatest favourite.”—_Bewick._