PAVO 1 lU T IC U S .
fflAVO MlíTICUS.
' « ¡ T A Y M P K A i . O U L ;
PAVO MUTICUS, Linn. Sysfc Nat. vol. i.-p , .268.—Gray,. Gen. B. vol. iii. (-1845) p. .—Sclat. Proc.jZ90l. S0c. (1 8 6 3 )^ . 123. sp. 3.—Blyth, Ibis
(1867), p. 1.52.r-^¥igors> Mem. Raffles, p. 676.^§-Beavan, Ibis (1868), p. 379.—Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. Asiat. Soe. Beng. p. 239.—Gray,
.List o f Gafl. (1867) .p. 22. . <
P. SPICIFER, Shaw,;'Nat. Mise.- t. 641.—Gray, List B. Brit. Mus. (1 8 4 4 ) p.^2'2.,, ' ,
P. SPICIFERUS, Vieill. Gal. Ois. (1834) t. 202.
P. ALDROVANDI, W-ils.Tll. Zo.ol.-pl.il^FS?^- \-
P.-JAVANICUS, Horsf:'Lilm:Trans. vol.’ xiiltp. 185.
SPICIFERUS MUTICUS, Bonap. Compt. Rend. (1 8 5 6 )^ . 878.' '
H ab. Arakany through Tenasserim provinces (B lyth) . Sumatra;'Java (V igors) . Malay Peninsula (R affles) . •
T h e Javan Peafowl is very abundant in the BurmfeSe'ànd Malay :¿omitries, ranging northwards to Aràkan. It is also a native of
©ëylohsiv• and Mr. Wallace’found: it--abundant: in Jhvaf<lA ,race of this' species, much'darker- in the- general' colour of its plumage,
extends from--Arakan southwards ¡through" the Tenasserim Provinces. ‘ In Penang, according:;'to Mr. Blyth, the species is more
vividly-coloured. Thé Pavo. ?n«^m'-poSsèsses 'a m u c h i ^ r è hwpiaüF plumage than' its' ally the longer-known P . cristatus-, and
it is p.nly i because it is ■ so ‘.familiar to every person ; that it is 1 not ranked as the; most ‘ beautiful of the- Pheasant tribe.
Familiarity; with an • obj’eet* is . apt. to, “render -man so indifferent to its attractions, that-*;eyen the most beautiful creation‘ in nature
is too frequently passed, by- with.1 hardly, a^glànce bestowed upon it;> Mr. Wallace met with this .'species in Java, a t a place
called Wonosalem,, “ situated about' a thousand feet ¿bove'^the sea, surrounded by cofFee-plahtations, thickets of bamboo, and
coarse grasses. The place. was' fámous for Peacocks ; and my boy soon shot ' several of these magnificent birds, whose flesh
we-found tó’vbe tender,- white, ;andî déliçâtei; and'simila r - to that of a Turkey. It is' a fifigjilar fa ct !in geographical distribution,
th at'’the .-Rèaéock' should not be found';in:'Sumatra or Borneo, while the superb ArgUs,' Fire-backed,-'an'd • Ocejlated Pheasants of
those islands are'equally unknown' in. Java; It would: seem ' as if the Peacock-could admit o f ’no -rivals in its domain. Were -
these birds rar,e in their native country, and unknown alive in Europe, they would assuredly be considered the- true, prinCes-
©f the feathered -tribes 'a n d altogether .unrivalled" for- stateliness'and beauty. As it is, I suppose scarcely any'.one,1 if'asked to
fix upon ¡ther.most beautiful "bird in th e wbrld, would :i\U'ffle AthaA Peacock, any more than the Papuan savage or thé! Bëëgis-
trader' would fix 1 upon tlie Bird of Paradise for the same honour. All the'; Peacocks we had hitherto shot bad'- had short or
imperfect tails ; but I now obtained? two magnificent specimens,' more than- sevbh feet ' long, one of w h ic h 'I preserved entire,
While . Ï kdjit the train "Only attached to the tail • of two of three others. When this bird is seen feeding on the ground1, it
appears-..wonderful; h ow it can rise''into th e 'a ir with ¡such a long' andi-'cUmbersQme train of feathers. It does1 so, however, with'
great yeaseii' by ¡ running quickly for’ a 'short diStaneei- and- then rising obliquely ; and will fly over trees of a considerable1 height.
The Javan iPeacock, ¡¡like its ?|iliy/ is3* not noted "fdr1 Having1 a very^ gentle disposition ; and although -it appears to be-ofie of
the most i innocent of' birds -a s . ¡ -it walks about the; grounds ¿br" enclosure in which it may be confined, still it would be very
unsafe: for any*, other bird to approach, lest a well-directed âblbw firom- the 'sharp-pointed bill should lay it lifeless. It. is álsC
very* apt to - aim ¡atí thé -eyfe îof any person coming near ; and for this .cause is not* a safe jpe.t. An exceedingly . fine maleof
this- species is now au inmate of one o f the bird-enclosures^at the Zoological Gardens, in Regent’s Park, which is' particularly
treacherous in disposition, and : does not hesitate ’tb ':IU&iCk'><ài)ÿ;: -eüter its cage, not sparing even the keeper inits
blind; rage.. The Javaw Peafowl ..also ' possesses a fair share of reasoning powers ; and Captain Bëavan states that he-had
seen rithis-1 species:in Captivity'.at Moulmein, 'w h é ïe 1 hisfrien d -' Col'onèl Brown “ liad, a yóung one which used to walk-at will-
Adbbut the "house ; and grounds,'andkkriew?'as well as possible- th e ; lio'urs‘for- meals, a t which it was a regular visitor; but it
invariably waited'until'fed, and-never attempted to steal from the table.”
In-.a collection lately receivedsfroin the island;of Salwâttÿ there -Wife a 'specimen o f 'a Peafowl/which is now in Mr. Gould’s
' collection. It is a*young. bird, probably not a year old, y e t - ^ n - itippèars'',ts()'bave’• aréivèd/:a t its full size. I t is a lliff'to , if not
identical1 with the, present species, . but is remarkable for being very ' small, not much1 larger than the Phasianus Reevesii, and
for, having the erest-feathers of a rather different shape.' This last, however, is a point upon which a satisfactory opinion can
hardly yet be given;, for th e -perfect'' crest' has n o t -yet grown, only a few of -the feathers-'of the adult having appeared. The
bright ■ green -feathers$on the neck, a few -of which are seen among the -brown ones, seem-to be broader than are those of
P , mutieus. The locality from which this specimen is Supposed to have come'■ is quite a 'n ew one for any kind of Peacock;
and if'th e re : is one really indigenous ;to -that island, : of which it is permissible1 to 'en terta in very strong doubts, we may readily
¡expect it to be distinct from any heretofore known. If this specimen lately recëived has àttained its full growth, the adult male
■would indeed be a most brilliant little creature,; possessing the gorgeous train similar to that of the prçsent species, together with
its brilliant, plumage and châràcteristic'.crest, with only the size of a full-grown' Pheasant. It is to be hoped that m any future
¡collection which we.-.may receiveÆôm • Salwatty, it ta'ay contain adult specimens, and jtlíát the interesting question as to whether
; there is still another species of Peacock to be made known to ornithologists màÿ be satisfactorily solved.