The Peacock At Home | Page 3

door, for an hour had been station'd,
Till a MAGPYE, at
length, the banquet announcing,
Gave the signal, long wish'd for, of
clamouring and pouncing; At the 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 compôte_;

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,