This bird is assigned to the genus _paro_, or peacock--the division,
class, or sex, and family, being the same as the preceding. The male of
this species is noted for its long, lustrous tail, which it occasionally
spreads, glittering with hundreds of jewel-like eye-spots, producing an
unrivalled effect of grace and beauty. The form of the bird is also
exceedingly elegant, and the general plumage of the body exhibits rich
metallic tints; that of the neck, particularly, being of a fine deep
blue, tinged with golden green. The female, however, is of a much more
sober hue, her whole plumage being usually of a brownish color. The
voice of the peacock is by no means suitable to the beauty of its
external appearance, consisting of a harsh, disagreeable cry, not unlike
the word _paon_, which is the French name of the bird.
[Illustration: THE PEA FOWL.]
Although naturalized as a domestic bird in Europe and America, the pea
fowl is a native of India, where it is still found abundantly in a wild
state; and the wild specimens are said to be more brilliant than those
bred in captivity. The date of its introduction into England is not
known; but the first peacocks appear to have been brought into Europe by
Alexander the Great, although these birds were among the articles
imported into Judea by the fleets of Solomon. They reached Rome toward
the end of the republic, and their costliness soon caused them to be
regarded as one of the greatest luxuries of the table, though the
moderns find them dry and leathery. This, perhaps, as much as the desire
of ostentation, may have induced the extravagance of Vitellius and
Heliogabulus, who introduced dishes composed only of the brains and
tongues of peacocks at their feasts. In Europe, during the middle ages,
the peacock was still a favorite article in the bill of fare of grand
entertainments, at which it was served with the greatest pomp and
magnificence. And during the period of chivalry, it was usual for
knights to make vows of enterprise on these occasions, "before the
peacock and the ladies." At present, however, the bird is kept entirely
on account of the beauty of its appearance.
In a state of nature, pea fowl frequent jungles and wooded localities,
feeding upon grain, fruits, and insects. They are polygamous, and the
females make their nests upon the ground among bushes; the nest is
composed of grass, and the number of eggs laid is said to be five or
six. They roost in high trees, and, even in captivity, their inclination
to get into an elevated position frequently manifests itself; and they
may often be seen perched upon high walls, or upon the ridges of
buildings.
The latter characteristic is, indirectly, one reason why many are
disinclined to keep pea fowl in a domestic state. Their decided
determination so to roost prevents such a control being exercised over
them as would restrain them from mischief, until an eye could be kept on
their movements; and, consequently, they commit many depredations upon
gardens, stealing off to their work of plunder at the first dawn, or at
the most unexpected moments. Their cunning indeed is such that, if
frequently driven away from the garden at any particular hour of the day
or evening, they will never be found there, after a certain time, at
that special hour, but will invariably make their inroads at day-break.
Many have tried, as a last resort, to eject them with every mark of
scorn and insult, such as harsh words, the cracking of whips, and the
throwing of harmless brooms; but they remain incorrigible marauders,
indifferent to this disrespectful usage, and careless of severe rebuke.
A mansion, therefore, where the fruit and vegetable garden is at a
distance, is almost the only place where they can be kept without daily
vexation. The injury they do to flowers is comparatively trifling;
though, like the Guinea-fowl, they are great eaters of buds, cutting
them out cleanly from the _axillae_ of leaves. They must likewise have a
dusting-hole, which is large and unsightly; but this can be provided for
them in some nook out of the way; and by feeding and encouragement, they
will soon be taught to dispose themselves into a pleasing spectacle, at
whatever point of view may be deemed desirable. No one with a very
limited range should attempt to keep them at all, unless confined in an
aviary. Where they can be kept at large, they should be collected in
considerable numbers, that their dazzling effects may be as impressive
as possible.
A wanton destructiveness toward the young of other poultry is also
charged upon them. Relative to this, however, statements differ; some
contending that such instances of cruelty constitute the exceptions, and
not the rule.
The hen does not lay till her third summer; but she then seems to have
an instinctive fear of her mate, manifested by the secrecy with which
she selects the place for her nest; nor, if the eggs are disturbed, will
she go there again. She lays from four or five to seven. If these are
taken, she will frequently lay a second time during the summer; and the
plan is recommended to those who are anxious to increase their stock.
She sits from twenty-seven to twenty-nine days. A common hen will hatch
and rear the young; but the same objection lies against her performing
that office, except in very fine, long summers, for the pea fowl as for
turkeys--that the young require to be brooded longer than the hen is
conveniently able to do. A turkey will prove a much better foster-mother
in every respect. The peahen should, of course, be permitted to take
charge of one set of eggs. Even without such assistance, she will be
tolerably successful.
The same wise provision of Nature noticed in the case of the Guinea fowl
is evinced in a still greater degree in the little pea chickens. Their
native jungle--tall, dense, sometimes impervious, swarming with reptile,
quadruped, and even insect, enemies--would be a most dangerous
habitation for a little tender thing that could merely run and squall.
Accordingly, they escape from the egg with their quill-feathers very
highly developed. In three days, they will fly up, and perch upon any
thing three feet high; in a fortnight, they will roost on trees, or the
tops of sheds; and in a month or six weeks, they will reach the ridge of
a barn, if there are any intermediate low stables or other buildings to
help them to mount from one to the other.
There are two varieties of the common pea fowl: the _pied_ and the
_white_. The first has irregular patches of white about it, like the
pied Guinea fowl, and the remainder of the plumage resembling the
original sorts; the white have the ocellated spots on the tail faintly
visible in certain lights. These last are tender, and much prized by
those who prefer variety to real beauty. They are occasionally produced
by birds of the common kind, in cases where no intercourse with other
white birds can have taken place. In one instance, in the same brood,
whose parents were both of the usual colors, there were two of the
common sort, and one white cock, and one white hen.