P A Y O M U T I C U S .
“ Ornithognomen” gives the following account of this fine species:—
“ The green or Burman Peacock inhabits the countries along the eastern margin of the Bay o f Bengal, Arakan,- Burma,
Tcnasscrim, Siam, and so on towards the south, throughout Malayana to Java, '&c. The northerly ;gnd southerly limifs of its
habitat I do not know. As Jerdon does not include it % his birds of India,^ it is probable that it does not extend in to '. '
Chittagong. The Naaf river, which forms the boundary between Bengal and Arakan, is an impassable barrier to the jackal,,which
animal, strange to say, is never found to the^ou'tb of it, thopgh the topographically much the same on either "bank; -
In like manner the Bengal and the Burman Peacock may, perhaps, be separated and debarred from penetrating into each other’s
dominions by the same stream. The sea may have some unknown effect on this limitation; for more 'injatgj the,, jackal
advances further south, and has been found at Prome (in Burma), much in the same latitnde as Kyoukphyoo' (in^Arakan), \yhich
is considerably south of the Naaf.
“ The habits of Paw muticus are so s im i l^ to those o f its congener as scarcely to admit of separate description; biif I should
say it was a still more strictly sylvan Or forest-haunting bird. Cultivation does not appear to entice it.frfr from its leafy fastnesses,
as it does with the Bengal species, and it is in consequence more secluded, wilder, and difficult o f approach, besides being far less
numerous. I have never seen more than three or four of the Burman Peafowl together, whereas the Bengal species unite in flocks
of thirty, forty, or fifty. It haunts the thickest juiigle1§whether on level ground o£/on the sides of small Kills, and in frequently
found in the masses of elephant-grass which so commonly skirt ithe smaller brackish creeks and nullas of Arakan. A specimen with
a full train is seldom seen, except in the beginning of the rains, which iC' tl% season of courtship. About August they moult, drop
their long ocellated tail-coyerts, and assume the fónpìer green-barred ones. The train appears again in the succeeding March or
April; but the moulting of this bird appears to be irregular, and I have seen-'€Ock.-';bt^d§;>^th;- .fine flowing trains in January and
February. The hen incubates in the rains, but at uncertain periods ; |h e y p tìn g ju st hatched have been brought to me a t Moulmein .
at different times, from August till January. The eggs cannot be .distinguished-from those of the Bengal bird.
“ The Burmese and Talamgs, who never keep or tame wild aniinals, do not attempt to domesticate the Peacock,jjjfwt will
now and then bring them into Moulmein for sale. The chicki resemble those of the Bengal species, and a re ' difficult to
rear. They either fly off as soon as folly fledged, or pine away if kept shut up. Occasionally one: will attach itse lf' .to; the
compound or poultry-yard for a year Or two; but the ibird is not a pleasant pet. I f rendered a t all familial it becomes
impudent and vicious, attacking elderly gentlemen or ladies suddenly and treacherously. by the rear, flying a t a'nd severely
buffeting and pecking children, lapdogs, Ac., and sometimes wantonly destroying young poultry.. I once saw a ludicrous encounter
between a Peacock and an old house-cat, which was demurely taking the air in my garden a t Akyab. They popped upon
each other round a corner, and for a minute Or two stood face to face as i^fP sparring, ’ till the cat, a discreet animal and
pacifically inclined, moved so as fto pass on, and was greeted with such a sudden peck in the eye as brought forth a squauk
of anguish and a jump thrOugfr.the hedge, which quickly closed , her from view—th e Peacock looking, with its innocent face,
all unconscious of what had happened. The cry or call o f the Burman Peacock is somewhat harsher than that of the
Bengal species.
“ The best and certainly the pleasantest way df shooting these birds is from a canoe, ’fri the evening, when they come to
the water to drink. The vast forests in Amhersk one of the districts of Tenasserim, are permeated' by numerous streams,
which form the only practicable roads through inany parts of them. Such are the Houngthrau,.. the Wynyo, the Zummeei' the
Ataran, and some others. Near the hills whence they issue these small rivers are beautifully clear, rippling over beds o f white, !-
sand or dean rocks' free from weed. And nothing can be more luxurious than to float down them, with a couple of Karens
or Takings paddling now and then ju st sufficiently to allow of steerage way, and with an old fellow squatted astern h f§ the h |Jm |J
The air is cool on these crystal waters, and the boat glides smoothly and silently along, while each turn of the meandering stream
brings some fresh beautiful prospect i | |b view. ' Now wei. pass/ beneath a . lofty roof of verdure, where giant trees ' on either side
meet overhead, and, interlacing their foliage, cast a green shadow on the limpid pool. Bright flowers clustering" on parasites and
creepers in endless variety, with orchids of every hue and. fantastic shape, enliven the Jovely avenue. Suddenly we sweep into
rock-girt .space, where the grey walls enclose a . pool so deep that the ribbed sand and boulders of the bottom melt away from
view. Anon the boat emerges into a. broader part, where shallows, break the stream into many brawling currents,r and the trees,
retiring further from us, disclose to view the purple mountains peering through their upper branches. In such spots as these,
when the sun begins to draw near the western horizon, and the,: shades of evening. gather ovér the water and' the silent
shore, the sportsman may get several snap-shots, before darkness settles on the banks, at Jungle-fowl, Peafowl, hill-Pheasants
(Euplocamus), or perhaps a deer. I f there be small islets in the river, covered with high grass or bush, he should search
every one, sending a boatman on shore to beat the cover. Peafowl and Jungle-fowl are very fond of emerging from the
heavy jungle towards evening, if all is quiet, and flying ifito «such islets, where they scratch about in the sand, drink a t the
margin, and roost for the night if uudisturbèd, secure from jungle-cats.
“ Karens have the same notion or idea as the Ilindustanees entertain,, of the tiger and Peafowl affecting the same locality ; sMjid;
on the Ataran river a painful confirmation of this opinion occurred some twenty years ago. A gentleman was travelling up ’that
stream in a boat to visit some teak-forests, androne morning, hearing the cry of a Peacock on the bunk, stepped fan* shore with
his gun to shoot the bird. It ran before him,»alluring him further into the jungle, till, about a couple of hundred yards from
the water-side, he was seized and killed by a tiger before help could reach h im .l9H |
Crest, head, and neck deep rich green, with the base of the feathers blue. Breast bluish green, margined with gold; rest
o f underparts dull bluish green. Back bright copper-colour, barred with green and light brown, becoming more distinct towards
the upper tail-coverts, which are rich green, showing gold- and copper-colours in certain lights.. Tail deep brown, barred with pale
brown. Wing-coverts black ; wings washed with Prussian blue ; tertials and secondaries black, with bluish reflections ; primaries buff.
The train of the male is similar in its markings to that of the P . cristatys, but is. much more bronzy in colour. Bare skin of face
a rich blue ; below and behind the eye bright yellow.