Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-03
THEBARNYARD FOWL
Although Best Known of Featherei
Creatures, It Has No Name.
IT PROBABLY CAME FROM INDIA,
The Etratagem of the Grouse Hen in
Protecting Her Young Ones.
SOcIABILITY OF THE LITTLE QuAIr
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH

It is a curious fact that bird which /.
earth than any other kind, which is better
known to man, and more useful to him than
any other, has in our lang uage no distinc-
tive name. This defect in nomencl ature
seems still more strange hen we remember
that this favorite bird has halt dozen
cousin species, every one of which rejoices
in a name that is all its own. The nameless
bird is the-well, the barnyard bird, about
whose capabilities for broiling, roasting and
the like we usually care great deal more
than we do about what we shall call it.
But isn't it queer that we have no name
for it?
Commonly we call the bird chicken. That
Is clearly misnomer unless we are sllud-
ing to the little fellows that have lately
emerged from the she'll An adult of this
species is as far from being a chicken as
man is from being baby. When we want
to be specific about the adult of this species
we Americans call the male bird rooster
and the female hen. But these terms
apply equally to many other species Of
birds. Probably the most favored word for
wide of the mark. Webster's definition Of
fowl is "a vertebrate animal having two
legs, and covered with feathers or down-a
bird" Shakespeare uses the simIle, Like
a flight of fowl, and the Bible speaks Of
"the fowl of the air.
Not a High Flyer.
Anybody who has dulled his teeth or
strained his jaws in the effort to dissect an
aged rooster is ready to solemnly affirm that
the birds aerial excursions never got beyond
the top rail of fence. Even the toothsome
"spring broiler" is not suggestive of lofty
flights except in connection with the appe-
tite of soaring and appreciative hawk.
But it is not the present purpose to say
much about the familiar so dear, and often,
alas! so tough an old friend as the? which
is here dismissed with the suggestion that it
might be well for some philsnthropic friend
of the bird to insert a newpaper advertise
ment on, its behalf headed, "Wanted-s
name"
It is not definitely known where this do
mestic bird halls from. The nearest ap-
proach to it, in a wild state, is found in
India, and the most likely theory is that to
India we owe debt of gratitude for our
favorite broils, fries, roasts and fricassees.
Next to the Indian bird alluded to. tho
grouse probably comes nearest, in appear
ance and habit, to our barnyard bird. The
young of the grouse, or prairie chicken, as
they are commonly called in the West, are
very similar to our chicks. When Just out
of the she'll they are the. cunningest little
creatures you ever saw. There is nothing
m uch prettier than a freshly hatched brood
of little tailless barnyard yawpers; but the
young grouse are smaller, more firmly built,
a great deal more active and much more
handsomely colored. They usually have
bands OF dark color which alternate with
lighter shades.
Traits of the Domestic Hon.
There is close resemblance between the
domestic hen and the grouse mother. A
hen, as you know, will boldly fight any-
thing in defense Of her young, although
normally she is o great coward. A grouse
hen will not attack man or dog, but she
will resort to arts and devices, to protect her
little ones, that are both amusing and
pathetic. She is very sharp-sighted bird,
and in her prairie home she is sure to SEQ
you before you discover her presence. She
could fly away at your approach, but sha
will not desert her chicks. She will first
hide with them under q tuft OF grass in the
hope that you may pass by without discover
ing her, II she finds that you have diseov-
cred her she will fly away a few feet, futter-
manifest purpose of drawing you away from
her brood. If you follow her she will keep
on with this queer stage effect, gradually
leading you away until the chicks are safe.
The next nearest relative to our domestic
fowl, at least in America. is the partridge.
1t some parts of the country it is called
pheasant, but there are no indigenous
phessants in the United States. the
partridge is similar in general appearance
to the grouse, but little smaller. II was
formerly very abundant, but the advance Of
civilization and the shotgun are rapidly
driving it to extinction.
The Popular Little Quail.
The quail is in some respects the most in
teresting of the gallinaeeous family, as all
these rooster and hen birds are called. The
young are very much like the grouse chicks.
except in size, and indeed the adult quail il
only about as large as the average 3-weeks-
old chick of the barnyard. Their seeming
trustfulness in man, and their inclination &C
times to mingle with their big cousins near
farm houses, make them universal fayorires.
When food is scarce in their natural
haunts quail will boldly appear among the
domestic fowls, hobnob and dine with them.
the two species treating each other like the
long-lost cousins that they are. 1t is
thought by some commentators that quail
was the miraculous food supplied to the
Israelites in the wilderness. If they also
made toast out of the mama this may help
to account for their leisurely stay Of 40years.
]. H. WEBB.