The Peacock At Home | Page 3

well-furnish'd board all were eager to perch,?But the little Miss CREEPERS were left in the lurch.
Description must fail; and the pen is unable [p 10] To recount all the lux'ries that cover'd the table.?Each delicate viand that taste could denote,?Wasps _a la sauce piquante_, and Flies _en comp?te_;?Worms and Frogs _en friture_, for the web-footed Fowl;?And a barbecu'd Mouse was prepar'd for the Owl;?Nuts, grains, fruit, and fish, to regale ev'ry palate,?And groundsel and chickweed serv'd up in a sallad,?The RAZOR-BILL carv'd for the famishing group,?And the SPOON-BILL obligingly ladled the soup;?So they fill'd all their crops with the dainties before 'em, And the tables were clear'd with the utmost decorum.?When they gaily had caroll'd till peep of the dawn,?The Lark gently hinted, 'twas time to be gone;?And his clarion, so shrill, gave the company warning,?That Chanticleer scented the gales of the morning.?So they chirp'd, in full chorus, a friendly adieu;?And, with hearts beating light as the plumage that grew?On their merry-thought bosoms, away they all flew.
[Illustration: "So they fill'd all their crops, &c."--_Page 10._]
Then long live the PEACOCK, in splendour unmatch'd, [p 11] Whose Ball shall be talk'd of, by Birds yet unhatch'd,?His praise let the TRUMPETER loudly proclaim,?And the GOOSE lend her quill to transmit it to Fame.
NOTES.
Page 4. l. 15. _The Rip._] A machine used in poultry-yards, under which it is usual to confine the mother bird with the young brood, till it has acquired strength to follow her. The word is derived from the Saxon, _Hrip_, meaning a covering, or protection, for the young.
P. 5. l. 13. _The Taylor Bird (Motacilla Sutoria)._] So called from the singular manner in which it constructs its nest, which is composed of two leaves, sewed together with wonderful skill, by the little taylor, whose bill serves him for a needle, and the fine fibres of leaves furnishes him with a substitute for thread, and by which means he attaches a dead leaf to a living one, growing at the end of a branch. The Taylor Bird is an inhabitant of India.
P. 5. l. 17. _The Golden-crested Wren (Motacilla Regulus)._] Is the smallest of the British birds; it takes its name from a circle of gold-coloured feathers, bordered with black, forming an arch above its eyes, which it has the power of raising or depressing: it is a native of every part of Europe, and is also to be found in Asia and America.
P. 5. l. 19. _Halcyon, or Kingfisher, (Alcedo-irpedo)._] Esteemed the most beautiful of our native birds; but its form is clumsy, and its bill very disproportionate to its size. It inhabits the banks of rivers and streams, where it will sit for hours, on a projecting branch, watching for its prey. The ancients relate many fabulous stories of this bird, as that of its laying its eggs in the depth of winter, and that during the time of its incubation the weather remains perfectly calm, whence the expression _Halcyon Days_.
P. 6. l. 2. _Cuculus Indicator._] A Bird of the Cuckoo kind, found in the interior parts of Africa; it has a shrill note, which the Natives answer by a soft whistle; and the Birds repeating the note, the Natives are thereby conducted to the wild Bee-hives, which this Bird frequents.
P. 6. l. 5. _Cassowary._] A large singular bird, found in the Island of Java, in Africa, and the southern parts of India. The head of this bird is armed with a kind of natural helmet, extending from the base of the bill to near half way over the head.
P. 6. l. 5. _Flamingo Phoenicopterus._] A bird of the Crane kind, but web-footed, whose plumage is of a bright scarlet; when standing erect, it measures above six feet, though its body is not larger than that of a goose, and is a native of Africa, Persia, and South America.
P. 6. l. 8. _Ptarmigan (Tetrao)._] The white grons, or white game, inhabits the Highlands of Scotland and the Western Islands; it prefers the coldest situations on the highest mountains, where it burrows under the snow. It changes its feathers twice in the year, and about the end of February puts on its summer dress of dusky brown, ash, and orange-coloured feathers; which it loses in winter for a plumage perfectly white, except a black line between the bill and the eye. The legs and toes are warmly clothed with a thick long coat of soft white feathers.
P. 6. l. 17. _The Chough (Corrus Graculus)._] This bird, which is about the size of the daw, has a long curved bill, sharp at the point, which, as well as the legs and feet, is of a bright scarlet, contrasting beautifully with its black plumage, which varies as the light falls on it, to a deep purple or violet. Its general haunts are