Its normal plumage is singularly beautiful, being spangled over with an infinity of white spots on a black ground, shaded with gray and brown. The spots vary from the size of a pea to extreme minuteness. The black and white occasionally change places, causing the bird to appear covered with a net of lace. The white variety is not uncommon, and is said to be equally hardy and profitable with the usual kind; but the peculiar beauty of the original plumage is, certainly, all exchanged for a dress of not the purest white. It is doubtful how long either this or the former variety would remain permanent; though, probably, but for a few generations. Pied birds blotched with patches of white, are frequent, but are not comparable, in point of beauty, with those of the original wild color. THE PEA FOWL. This bird is assigned to the genus _paro_, or peacock--the division, class, or sex, and family, being the same as the preceding. The male of this species is noted for its long, lustrous tail, which it occasionally spreads, glittering with hundreds of jewel-like eye-spots, producing an unrivalled effect of grace and beauty. The form of the bird is also exceedingly elegant, and the general plumage of the body exhibits rich metallic tints; that of the neck, particularly, being of a fine deep blue, tinged with golden green. The female, however, is of a much more sober hue, her whole plumage being usually of a brownish color. The voice of the peacock is by no means suitable to the beauty of its external appearance, consisting of a harsh, disagreeable cry, not unlike the word _paon_, which is the French name of the bird. [Illustration: THE PEA FOWL.] Although naturalized as a domestic bird in Europe and America, the pea fowl is a native of India, where it is still found abundantly in a wild state; and the wild specimens are said to be more brilliant than those bred in captivity. The date of its introduction into England is not known; but the first peacocks appear to have been brought into Europe by Alexander the Great, although these birds were among the articles imported into Judea by the fleets of Solomon. They reached Rome toward the end of the republic, and their costliness soon caused them to be regarded as one of the greatest luxuries of the table, though the moderns find them dry and leathery. This, perhaps, as much as the desire of ostentation, may have induced the extravagance of Vitellius and Heliogabulus, who introduced dishes composed only of the brains and tongues of peacocks at their feasts. In Europe, during the middle ages, the peacock was still a favorite article in the bill of fare of grand entertainments, at which it was served with the greatest pomp and magnificence. And during the period of chivalry, it was usual for knights to make vows of enterprise on these occasions, "before the peacock and the ladies." At present, however, the bird is kept entirely on account of the beauty of its appearance.