Peacock

(pe'kok.) [Pea, from A. S. pawa, and Eng. cock.] (Zool.) The common name of Pavo, a gen. of beautiful birds, fam. Phasianida, including only the common peacock (Pavo cristatus), and the Javanese peacock(Pavo Javanicus). The name properly belongs to the male,but it is popularly applied to the species in general; though the female is, for distinction's sake, called a peahen. Like other domesticated birds, the common peacock exhibits several varieties. The ordinary length of this splendid bird, from the tip of the bill to that of the full-grown fan expanded tail, is about four feet. The female is rather le ; and her train is not only very short, but destitute of those brilliant hues and striking beauties which adorn the male; her crest, too, is le Fig. 522.- JAVANESE PEACOCK. developed, and her whole plumage partakes ofa cinereous hue. When pleased, the peacock erects his tail, unfolds his feathers, and frequently turns round,as if to catch the sunbeams in every direction, accompanying this movement with a hollow murmuring. At other times his cry is very disagreeable, and often repeated, especially before rain. Every year he sheds his plumes,and courts the most obscure retreats till the returning spring renews his lustre. The Javanese peacock resembles the common kind, but has a larger crest. [s. 691]