The Honduras or Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata, Cuvier) is one of the most beautiful Gallinaceans; its plumage is magnificent; the tail is enamelled with large blue eyes, each of which is surrounded with a circle of brilliant yellow and purple. It inhabits the country surrounding the Bay of Honduras, Southern Mexico, and all Central America. At the Regent's Park Gardens, London, is to be seen a splendid hybrid, bred between the American Wild Turkey and the Honduras species.
The tribe of Peacocks comprehends the genera Pavo cristatus, Hist. Anim.; Pavo javanicus, Horsfield; and Lophophores. The feature which essentially distinguishes Peacocks from other Gallinaceans is the immense tail with which nature has endowed them. This tail, formed of long, large, and tufted feathers, coloured with the richest shades, is capable of being raised up like that of a Turkey. When one contemplates this magnificent appendage, in which purple and gold vie with the most varying colours of the emerald, and notices the innumerable and brilliant eyes with which it is studded—when with delight he views its lofty stature, elegant shape, noble carriage, and, above all, a slight and mobile tuft, the emblem of royalty, crowning its head—one cannot help being struck with lively admiration, and spontaneously according the palm of beauty to the privileged being which unites in itself so many marvels. The Peacock was known from the earliest time; for it is mentioned in the Bible as one of the most precious products brought from Asia by King Solomon's ships. It made its first appearance in Greece after Alexander's expedition into India. Alexander, it is said, was so astonished at the sight of this bird that he forbade it to be killed under the severest penalties. For a long time they were very rare, and fetched a high price at Athens, and the people from the neighbouring towns assembled in crowds to see them. From the Greeks they passed to the Romans; but this nation, more fond of the pleasures of the table than of spectacles, soon made them figure in their feasts. Peacocks consequently were rapidly propagated in the poultry-yards of the rich patricians; and some of the emperors, such as Vitellius and Heliogabalus, caused dishes of the heads or brains of Peacocks to be served: from this cause their price became excessive in Rome. Little by little they spread throughout the empire, and thus the Peacock has become naturalised in Europe. During several centuries its exquisite and delicate flesh was in very great favour; but the importation of the Pheasant, and later that of the Turkey, brought successful rivals for table honours. The Peacock is now bred principally to please the eye; and even when it does make its appearance at some ceremonious repast, it is intended more to gratify the eye than the palate, for the carcass is invariably decorated with the resplendent tail, spread out in fan-shape. The Domestic Peacock, which is now the pride of our gardens and parks, is indigenous to India and the isles of the Eastern Archipelago. There they still live in large troops in the depths of the forests. They are so abundant in localities, that it is said the traveller, Colonel Williamson, being delayed one day in the district of Jungleterry, counted not less than from twelve to fifteen hundred. The Peacock runs with such rapidity that it often escapes from pursuing dogs; it takes to the wing with difficulty, and flies slowly, though it can prolong its flight to a considerable distance. It feeds upon grain of all kinds, which it swallows without crushing. In the evening, to roost for the night, it perches upon the limbs of the highest trees. In a state of domesticity it retains this fancy for elevated places, and takes pleasure in mounting on the roofs of houses, upon which it struts and excites itself, scattering tiles, or tearing up the thatch, as the case may be; for the devastating instinct appears to be very strongly developed in it when opportunity offers. This bird also commits great ravages in cultivated fields. The Peacock at times utters deafening cries, which contrast unpleasantly with its dazzling plumage—one wishes for a more harmonious voice with such a magnificent body; but what animal possesses all perfections? It is polygamous. At the commencement of the spring the male displays to the females all the splendour of his plumage; he struts, spreads his tail, delights at the sight of his own figure, and receives with pleasure the admiration which his charms draw forth. His vanity knows no bounds; the adulation of his females is not sufficient for him, he must have eulogiums from man also, and before him rejoices to display all the riches of his wonderful tail. Complete master in the art of pleasing, he knows how to manage the transitions of light and shade so as to present himself to the greatest advantage; and when he has been gazed at sufficiently, by reiterated struts he marks his contentment. At the end of August his beautiful plumage falls off, not to come forth again till the spring. It is said that the Peacock is so ashamed of having lost that which was his pride, that he then shuns the sight of man. This is better explained by the fact that the time of moulting is for this, as for all other birds, a period of sickness; they consequently retire into solitude, to find there the calm and tranquillity which their critical state demands. The Wild Peahen lays from twenty to thirty eggs in a hole hollowed out in the ground. She is much less fruitful in the Domestic state. She takes the greatest care to hide her nest from the searching eye of the male, which breaks the eggs whenever he finds them. Incubation lasts from twenty-seven to thirty days. The young follow their mother from their birth; at six months they are reputed adult, and attain their full development at three years. The Peahen, like the hen Pheasant and the Common Hen, adopts the plumage of the male when age has rendered her unfruitful, or when, by a premature atrophy, her eggs have become sterile. The Peacock lives from twenty-five to thirty years; some authors have wrongly attributed to them the longevity of a century.
Fig. 178.—Domestic Peacock (Pavo cristatus, Wood).
The Polyplectrons (Diplectron, Vieillot) owe their name to the superabundance of spurs with which they are armed; the males always possess two, sometimes three. The plumage of these birds, like that of Peacocks, is sprinkled with glittering ocellations; but their tails are shorter, and not susceptible of expansion. There are three or four varieties known, which inhabit India, China, and the isles of Sumatra and Borneo. Their manners have not yet been studied.
Impeyan Pheasants are little better known than the Polyplectrons. They prefer cold climates, which sufficiently accounts for their predilection for the elevated ridges of the Himalayas. No one has as yet succeeded in acclimating them in Europe. This is one of the most brilliant Gallinaceans; its plumage, bedizened with the most lively colours, has gained for it in India a very significant name—that of the "Golden Bird."
Under the name of Alectors (from the Greek αλεκτωρ), Cuvier has united a certain number of American birds bearing some resemblance to the Cock, and has divided them into several varieties: the Hoccos, Pauxis, Penelopes, Parraquas, and Hoazins.
Fig. 179.—Impeyan Pheasants (Lophophorus Impeyanus, Gould).
