Peacock, the Pheasant, the Jungle Fowl, the Guinea Fowl, and the Wild
Turkey are included; as well as our Domestic Fowls to the forms of which
they more or less closely approximate. The Black Grouse, and the Red
Grouse are found throughout Great Britain; the Prairie Grouse in North
America. The Ptarmigan is found in Scotland and in the North of the
continent of Europe; it changes colour with the seasons, becoming
snow-white in winter. The Quail is found in many parts of Europe, Asia,
and Africa; it visits England in the early summer and leaves about
October for Africa, where it winters.
The Peacock.
The Peacock has been famous in the East from before the days of Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba, and has been much affected in England in more
recent years, on account of its beauty, as an adornment of English
lawns, and as a royal dainty upon the festive board. It may be said
still to keep its place as an ornament of the park, but it is no longer
the choice of the epicure and seldom appears at the feast. It is said to
have come originally from Persia and has doubtless reached the west from
India where it still abounds. Colonel Williamson says that he has seen,
in the passes of the Jungletery district, as many as twelve or fifteen
hundred pea-fowls of various sizes within sight of one spot. "The
gorgeous plumes that adorn the Peacock," says Mr. Wood, "do not compose
the tail, as many suppose, but are only the tail-coverts. The tail
feathers themselves are short and rigid, and serve to keep the train
spread, as may be seen when the bird walks about in all the majesty of
his expanded plumage. Although pea-fowl seek their food on the ground,
they invariably roost on some elevated situation, such as a high branch,
or the roof of a barn or haystack." The peacock is swift of foot, but
heavy on the wing, and remains ordinarily on the ground, where it finds
its food. It has a harsh voice. The peahen is a plain, homely looking
bird, lacking the gorgeous tail which adorns her lord and master.
Guillim, an old writer quoted by Captain Brown, says: "The Peacock is so
proud, that when he erecteth his fan of plumes, he admireth himself. He
displayeth his plumes against the rays of the sun, that they may glister
the more gloriously: and he loseth this beautiful train yearly with the
fall of the leaf; at which time he becometh bashful, and seeketh
corners, where he may be secret from the sight of men, until the spring
of the year, when his train beginneth to be renewed. And such is the
quality of many dames, who being painted and richly attired, cannot keep
within doors; but being undressed, and in their own hue, they are loath
any man should see them."
The Pheasant.
There are several varieties of the Pheasant, of which the Peacock
Pheasant of Burmah, the Argus Pheasant of Malacca, the Golden Pheasant
of China, and the Common Pheasant are the better known species. The
Common Pheasant is a native of the British Isles, where it is cultivated
and preserved. Under some circumstances the cock pheasant displays
considerable pugnacity and a story is told of a young lady who when
walking near Stirling was attacked by one which, "with spurs and beak
began a furious assault. Seeing no escape from the enraged bird, she
seized her adversary, and carried him home. He was, however, soon
released, and when the door was opened, he went out without any sign of
fear, and, with a deliberate step, paced backwards and forwards in front
of the house, and manifested an inclination to join the fowls in the
poultry yard. The only way to account for this assault is, that the lady
wore a scarlet mantle, to which the pheasant may have had such an
antipathy as the turkey cock manifests to that colour; an antipathy
evinced by many other birds, and various quadrupeds; and the cause of
which is to us a mystery."
The Partridge.
The partridge is an interesting bird and shows great intelligence in the
care of its young. Mr. Jesse mentions an instance quoted by Mr. Wood. "A
gentleman who was overlooking his ploughman, saw a partridge run from
her nest, almost crushed by the horses' hoofs. Being certain that the
next furrow must bury the eggs and nest, he watched for the return of
the plough, when to his great astonishment, the nest, previously
containing twenty-one eggs, was vacant. After a search, he found the
bird sitting upon the eggs under a hedge, nearly forty yards from the
nest, to which place she and her mate had removed the whole number in
less than twenty minutes." Mr. Markwick relates, that "as he was once
hunting with a young pointer, the dog ran on a brood of very small
partridges. The old bird cried, fluttered, and ran trembling along just
before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable
distance; when she took wing and flew farther off, but not out of the
field. On this the dog returned nearly to the place where the young ones
lay concealed in the grass; which the old bird no sooner perceived, than
she flew back again, settled just before the dog's nose, and a second
time acted the same part, rolling and tumbling about till she drew off
his attention from the brood, and thus succeeded in preserving them."
The Wild Turkey.
The Wild Turkey was at one time common in all parts of America, but it
is fast diminishing, and is now seldom found except in the western
territories. It is often larger than the domestic turkey; it is
gregarious and feeds on grain, seeds, and fruits. It is the original
stock of the domestic turkey. Mr. Lucien Bonaparte has given a long and
interesting account of this bird. He says they sometimes fly across
broad rivers, ascending the tallest trees on one side, and the whole
flock starting together. Some of the younger and weaker birds sometimes
fall into the water and either paddle to the shore or are drowned.
The Domestic Turkey.
The Wild Turkey was first carried to Europe and other parts of the
eastern continent and domesticated in the 16th century. It is now
extensively diffused over the world, and its flesh is ranked among the
most delicious poultry. The cock is a noisy fellow, strutting about, and
displaying his plumage with great ostentation; he is also very
quarrelsome. The hen seems to possess a more modest and retiring
disposition, wandering about the fields with a melancholy and dejected
air, occasionally uttering a short plaintive note. She is exceedingly
attached to her young, but leads them away from danger without ever
attempting to defend them by repelling an attack.
The Sagacity of the Turkey.
Of the sagacity of the Turkey Audubon says: "While at Henderson, on the
Ohio, I had a fine male turkey, which had been reared from its earliest
youth under my care. It became so tame that it would follow any person
who called it, and was the favourite of the little village. Yet it would
never roost with the tame turkeys; but regularly betook itself at night
to the roof of the house, where it remained till dawn. When two years
old it began to fly to the woods, where it remained for a considerable
part of the day, and returned to the enclosure as night approached. It
continued this practice until the following spring, when I saw it
several times fly from its roosting-place to the top of a high
cotton-tree on the bank of the Ohio, from which, after resting a little,
it would sail to the opposite shore, the river being there nearly half a
mile wide, and return towards night. One morning I saw it fly off, at a
very early hour, to the woods in another direction, and took no
particular notice of the circumstance. Several days elapsed, but the
bird did not return. I was going towards some lakes near Green River, to
shoot, when, having walked about five miles, I saw a fine large gobbler
cross the path before me, moving leisurely along. Turkeys being then in
prime condition for the table, I ordered my dog to chase it and put it
up. The animal went off with great rapidity, and as it approached the
turkey, I saw, with great surprise, that the latter paid little
attention. Juno was on the point of seizing it, when she suddenly
stopped, and turned her head towards me. I hastened to them; but you may
easily conceive my surprise when I saw my own favourite bird, and
discovered that it had recognised the dog, and would not fly from it,
although the sight of a strange dog would have caused it to run off at
once. A friend of mine, being in search of a wounded deer, took the bird
on his saddle before him, and carried it home for me. The following
spring it was accidentally shot, having been taken for a wild bird, and
brought to me, on being recognised by the red ribband which it had round
its neck."
Sitting Turkey Cocks.
The male Turkey is said to be but an indifferent father, but there are
some curious illustrations on record of his displaying maternal
instincts. Captain Brown tells of a cock Turkey near Abingdon who
manifested a desire to sit and was allowed to experiment with thirteen
eggs, from which in three weeks he hatched twelve fine chickens. A
precisely similar incident occurred many years ago in Sweden, according
to the same authority.
Domestic Fowls.
The Domestic Fowls are too well known to need description here. They are
said to have descended from the Java species and have long been the
subjects of systematic and careful culture. John Guillim who wrote in
1677 and whose quaint description of the peacock we have already quoted,
says: "As some account the eagle the queen, and the swallow or wagtail
the lady, so may I term this (the cock) the knight amongst birds, being
both of noble courage, and also prepared evermore to the battel, having
his comb for an helmet, his sharp and hooked bill for a faulchion or
court-lax, to slash and wound his enemy: and as a compleat soldier armed
cap-a-pe, he hath his legs armed with spurs, giving example to the
valiant soldier to expell danger by fight, and not by flight. The cock
croweth when he is victor and giveth a testimony of his conquest. If he
be vanquished, he shunneth the light, and society of men." The cock is a
courageous bird and in fighting with his own kind or in the defence of
his family will show great gallantry and endurance. Buffon thus
describes an encounter of which he was an observer. He says: "I have
just witnessed a curious scene. A sparrow hawk alighted in a populous
court-yard; when a young cock, of this year's hatching, instantly darted
at him, and threw him on his back. In this situation, the hawk defending
himself with his talons and his bill, intimidated the hens and turkeys,
which streamed tumultuously around him. After having a little recovered
himself, he rose and was taking wing; when the cock rushed upon him a
second time, upset him, and held him down so long, that he was easily
caught by a person who witnessed the conflict." The cock is said to show
many of the qualities which belong to knighthood. He is jealous, and
has been known to kill a hen which has hatched a foreign brood; and he
is chivalrous both in the treatment of his hens and in their defence
against their enemies. He has a sense of justice too, which he does not
hesitate to assert on occasion. Mrs. Bowdich says: "On one occasion I
saw a cock pursue a hen round the poultry-yard; and, as she had a worm
in her bill, I at first thought he was so acting from a greedy desire to
have the delicious morsel; but when he at last caught her, he gave her a
knock on the head with his beak, and, taking up the worm which she had
dropped, brought it to another hen, who stood witnessing the affray in
mute expectation. A further knowledge of the habits of these birds has
made me feel sure she had purloined the worm from the other, and the
cock had restored it to its rightful owner." Though natural fighters,
cocks sometimes form friendships for each other, and Captain Brown
records an instance of two game cocks, belonging to the same owner, who
obstinately declined combat though all means were tried to excite mutual
animosity. These same birds when placed in the ring with other cocks
fought furiously, and in both cases destroyed their antagonists.
The Common Hen.
The hen gathering her chickens under her wings is a favourite type of
motherhood, and it cannot be denied that in many ways the hen shows
herself a model parent. The care she will expend upon her brood, or upon
a brood of ducks which she may have hatched, is well known, and the
courage she will show in their defence is well attested. The following
from the "Percy Anecdotes" is an illustration of this: "In June, 1820, a
contest of rather an unusual nature took place in the house of Mr.
Collins, at Naul in Ireland. The parties concerned were, a hen of the
game species, and a rat of the middle size. The hen, in an accidental
perambulation round a spacious room, accompanied by an only chicken, the
sole surviving offspring of a numerous brood, was roused to madness by
an unprovoked attack made by a voracious rat, on her unsuspecting
companion. The shrieks of the beloved captive, while dragged away by the
enemy, excited every maternal feeling in the affectionate bosom of the
feathered dame: she flew at the corner whence the alarm arose, seized
the lurking enemy by the neck, writhed him about the room, put out one
of his eyes in the engagement, and so fatigued her opponent by repeated
attacks of spur and bill, that in the space of twelve minutes, during
which time the conflict lasted, she put a final period to the invader's
existence; nimbly turned round, in wild but triumphant distraction, to
her palpitating nestling, and hugged it in her victorious bosom." In
this same work there is a story of a hen, near Exeter, which devoted
itself with much assiduity and success to catching mice. Hens often take
to other animals and have been known to show great attachment to
kittens, and to dogs, instances being recorded of hens living in dogs'
kennels and laying their eggs there under canine protection. The concern
shown by hens, when the ducks they may have hatched take to the water,
is very amusing. Captain Brown gives an instance of a hen which had
become used to this phenomena, from having been employed in hatching
successive broods of ducks, and which showed equal concern when a brood
of her own chickens avoided the watery element.
ORDER VI.
The Hoazin.
The Hoazin is the only bird of this order. It belongs to Brazil and
Guiana and is nearly as large as the peacock. It has been variously
classified but, differing in important characteristics from any other
bird, it is deemed best to place it in an order by itself.
ORDER VII.
Birds of Prey.
This order includes the Vultures, Condors, Eagles, Kites, Falcons,
Goshawks, Sparrowhawks, Buzzards, Kestrals, Owls, &c., &c. Interesting
as many of these birds are the briefest possible mention is all that we
can give of some of them.
The Eagle.
Whatever may be said of the claims of other birds, the Eagle is
traditionally the king of the air, as the lion is king of the forest.
There are a large number of species of which the Golden Eagle, the
Spotted Eagle, the Imperial Eagle and the White-headed Sea Eagle are
among the best known varieties. The Golden Eagle belongs to Europe and
America, and is sometimes found in Scotland and Ireland. It lives upon
smaller birds and animals: hares, young lambs and deer, grouse, plovers,
&c., &c. Though the eagle has often attacked children the stories of its
carrying them away are generally discredited. Eagles often hunt in pairs
and show great ferocity and determination in attacking their prey.
Eagle Shooting.
Mr. St. John gives the following description of a shooting expedition in
which he bagged a pair of splendid birds. "On a very dark morning I
sallied out with Malcolm to take a shot at the eagles, and at last I was
ensconced in a hiding-place (near the dead body of a sheep) which gave
me hardly room to stand, sit, or lie. It was scarcely grey dawn when a
bird with a slow, flapping flight passed, and alighted out of sight, but
near, for I heard him strike the ground, and my heart beat faster. What
was my disappointment, when his low, crowing croak announced a raven; he
hopped and walked suspiciously round the sheep, till, supposing the
coast clear, he hopped upon the carcase, and began with his cut and
thrust beak to dig at the meat. Another raven soon joined him, and then
two more, who, after a kind of parley, were admitted to their share of
the banquet. They suddenly set up a croak of alarm, stopped feeding, and
all turned their knowing eyes in one direction. At that moment I heard a
sharp scream, but very distant. The black party heard it too, and
instantly darted off, alighting again at a little distance. Next came a
rushing noise, and the monarch of the clouds lighted at once on the
sheep. He quietly folded up his wings, and, throwing back his
magnificent head, looked round at the ravens, as if wondering at their
impudence in approaching his breakfast; they kept a respectful silence,
and hopped further away. The royal bird then turned his head in my
direction, his bright eye that instant catching mine, as it glanced
along the barrel of my gun. He rose, I drew the trigger, and he fell
quite dead six yards from the sheep. As one eagle is always followed by
a second, I remained quiet, in hopes that his mate was not within
hearing of my shot. I had not waited many minutes when I saw the other
eagle skimming low over the brow of the hill towards me. She did not
alight at once, but her eye catching the dead body of her mate, she
wheeled up into the air. I thought she was lost to me, when presently I
heard her wings brush close over my head, and she wheeled round and
round the dead bird, turning her head downwards to make out what had
happened. At times she stooped so low that I could see the sparkle of
her eye, and hear her low, complaining cry. I watched the time when she
turned up her wing towards me, and dropped her actually on the body of
the other. She rose to her feet, and stood gazing at me with a
reproachful look, and would have done battle, but death was busy with
her, and as I was loading in haste she reeled, and fell perfectly dead."
The White-Headed Eagle.
The white-headed or bald eagle, is a native of North America, and feeds
equally on the produce of the sea and of the land, but is particularly
fond of fish. "In procuring these," says Wilson, "he displays in a very
singular manner the genius and energy of his character, which is fierce,
contemplative, daring and tyrannical, attributes not exerted but on
particular occasions, but when put forth overwhelming all opposition."
"Elevated," says Wilson, in his "American Ornithology," "on the high
dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a high view of the
neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions
of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations
below; the snow-white gulls, slowly winnowing the air; the busy tringæ,
coursing along the sands; trains of ducks streaming over the surface;
silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamorous crows; and all
the winged multitude that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid
magazine of nature. High over all these hovers one, whose action
instantly arrests all attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and
sudden suspension in the air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling
over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and
balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the
result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object
of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it
disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! At this moment
the looks of the eagle are all ardour; and levelling his neck for
flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his
prey, and mounting into the air with screams of exultation. This is the
signal for the eagle, who, launching in the air, instantly gives chase,
and soon gains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his utmost power to mount
above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most elegant and
sublime aërial evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and
is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when with a sudden
scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his
fish; the eagle poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more
certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it
reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away into the
woods."
The Vulture.
The Vultures have been sometimes called the Hyænas of the feathered
world, and judged by their habits, they certainly justify the term. As
scavengers they serve a useful purpose in Eastern lands and deserve the
protection they are said to receive from the natives. The Griffin
Vulture of Europe, Turkey, Persia and Africa, the Egyptian Vulture of
the Nile country, and the Condor, or American Vulture, are the best
known varieties.
The Condor.
The American Condor is the largest of the birds of prey, and is said to
partake of the ferocity of the Eagle and the filthiness of the Vulture.
"Two of these birds, acting in concert," says an American writer, "will
frequently attack a puma, a llama, a calf, or even a full-grown cow.
They will pursue the poor animal with unwearied pertinacity, lacerating
it incessantly with their beaks and talons, until it falls exhausted
with fatigue and loss of blood. Then, having first seized upon its
tongue, they proceed to tear out its eyes, and commence their feast with
these favourite morsels. The intestines form the second course of their
banquet, which is usually continued until the birds have gorged
themselves so fully as to render themselves incapable of using their
wings in flight." This bird is said to measure from three and a half to
four feet from head to tail.
The King of the Vultures.
This bird which is the handsomest of its tribe is called the King of the
vultures, because of the royal honours it receives from common vultures.
Mr. Byam says in his "Central America," "One day, having lost a mule by
death, he was dragged up to a small hill, not far off, where I knew, in
an hour or two, he would be safely buried in vulture-sepulture. I was
standing on a hillock, about a hundred yards off, with a gun in my hand,
watching the surprising distance that a vulture descries his prey from,
and the gathering of so many from all parts, up and down wind, where
none had been seen before, and that in a very short space of time.
Hearing a loud, whirring noise over my head, I looked up, and saw a fine
large bird, with outstretched and seemingly motionless wings, sailing
towards the carcase that had already been partially demolished. I would
not fire at the bird; for I had a presentiment that it was his majesty
of the vultures; but beckoned to an Indian to come up the hill--and,
showing him the bird that had just alighted, he said, 'the King of the
vultures; you will see how he is adored.' Directly the fine-looking bird
approached the carcase, the _oi polloi_ of the vultures retired to a
short distance; some flew off, and perched on some contiguous branch;
while by far the greatest number remained, acting the courtier, by
forming a most respectful and well-kept ring around him. His majesty,
without any signs of acknowledgment for such great civility, proceeded
to make a most gluttonous meal; but, during the whole time he was
employed, not a single envious bird attempted to intrude upon him at his
repast, until he had finished, and taken his departure with a heavier
wing and slower flight than on his arrival; but when he had taken his
perch on a high tree, not far off, his dirty, ravenous subjects,
increased in number during his repast, ventured to discuss the somewhat
diminished carcase; for the royal appetite was certainly very fine. I
have since beheld the above scene acted many times, but always with
great interest."
A Feast of Vultures.