GALLUS FERRÜGINEUS .
red, excepting the tips of the feathers, which were a golden yellow, and the general colour o f the plumage of the back much darker
than is seen in the ordinary styles of colouring of this species. These, however, could only be regarded as richer-coloured individuals
than those usually; met ,with. .
“ Of the wild common Fowl,” says Blyth, “ Dr. Jerdon remarks ‘ ear-coverts white.' He means the white cheek-lappets, which are
all but constant, in the Indian bird, and much improve its appearance. In the Burmese race the ear-lappets are crimson, like the comb
and wattles; and these, by the way, are small in the hen, not * wanting ’ as Dr. Jerdon asserts. H ie Jungle-fowl mostly droops
the tail, and has quite a different bearing from that o f the domestic races—more Pheasant-like. The Indian G. ferrugineus I have
found most difficult to tame if captured when adult—far more so'than G. Sonnerati and G. Stanley '), or, indeed, than any other game-bird
that I have had experience o f; not so the Burmese race, which is more Bantam-like in appearance, and has a somewhat coarser
leg. In localities where .the Bengal Jungle-fowl is common, I have sought in vain for any traces of intermixture of its blood among
the domestic poultry bred abundantly in the neighbouring villages, and which are left pretty much to find their own food in the
adjacent jungle. In Burma, on the contrary, such intermixture is commonly observable, so that the wild and tame poultry fairly
grade into each other; but I .have never seen the wild birdi with legs more or less greenish, or even yellow. Among the Karens
I have come upon tame Jungle-fowl hatched and reared by domestic hens; and the difference of their manner from that of
ordinary fowls, their companions, was strikingly conspicuous; they would rapidly creep under cover a t sight of a strange r; and I
observed that they preferred roosting upon trees to taking shelter with the other poultry. The Malayan race resembles the Burmese;
but the cocks are considerably deeper and redder in colouring: and the range of this race is noticed by Mr. Wallace to extend to
Lombock and Timor; it is said also to inhabit the Philippines.”
Capt. Beavan, in his article on various Indian birds, isays of this Jungle-fowl:—“ I found ’this bird common1 about JulpigOOrie
and the foot of the Himalayas, and also in the valleys in the interior o f the hills beyond Daijeéling, having killed, specimens in the
Rungeet valley near that station, and observed it in the interior of Sikkim, both a t Namtchi and at Rinchingpoong; but it is not
so abundant there as it is throughout the Sikkim and Bhootan terai, or strip of jungle-country'at the foot of the hills. I also; found
it far from, uncommon along the banks o f streams in the Maunbhoom district in 1864-65, and under the hills near Umballah in 1866,
whence I procured a pair in November of that year. Both o f these specimens weighed 21b. after being gutted. I have also procured
examples in the valley of the Salween River, in the Tennasserim provinces of Burmali. The best shooting l ever got a t this species
was at Julpigoorie, where the nullas, or beds o f streams, in the neighbourhood, which:were common in that country, and filled with
jungle, gave, cover to very many of. these b ird s ; and when put- up! by beaters they fly out a t a> considerable pace, and require a good
knock-down blow to bag . them* They run, too, a great d eal; and in th e ' Maunbhoom district’ the native Shikarries used tó get
many of them by, placing com near some water in. the half-dried-up beds of the streams, and then' shooting them when they came
there both in the early morning and evening both to: eat and drink.”
Ornithognomon furnishes.us with the following interesting account of this species, which I transcribe as it was originally contributed
to ‘The F ie ld :’—
“ The Jungle-fowl is found,«all over Continental India wherever jungle exists-^to the westward, as far south as the Vindhian
range and the Raj-peepla Hills; to the, eastward it extends into the Madras Presidency as far as thé Godavery, where it meets the
next-described, species (Gallas Sonneratii), individuals Of the two frequently interbreeding. It is more abundant to the eastward of
the Ganges, through the vast Teraie and Morung forests, Dhaka, Silhet, and Chittagong, and, further south, through Arakan,
Burma and Tenasserim, Malayana, and the islands o f . the archipelago as far as Timor and the Bonin Isles. But, as before
mentioned, alb: the individuals south o f Chittagong have the ear-coverts red or rust-coloured instead of white. The' birds found
in the Cis-Himala range are said to be paler-coloured than those further south.
“ In India proper I have found this bird more numerous to -th e south than to the north of the Ganges. In the great Morung
and Teraie forests its place appears to be usurped in a measure by the Peafowl, which are found there in vast flocks. It is off
the alluvion, in the dry,, stony jungles between Midnapoor and Chota Nagpoor, that the Jungle-fowl are .met with in the greatest
numbers. In favourable situations,, such as narrow strips of cultivation in the woods after, the crops have been reaped, I have seen as many
as twenty or thirty together gleaning about in the stubble; and where the country is thinly inhabited they will, in twos and threes,
advance pretty boldly into the open. On such occasions they do not appear to plant sentries, like the Crane and Wild Goose,
but are at all times excessively timid and wary. When approached in open spots, far from covert, they take wing as readily as
Partridges, springing with a loud flutter, and flying steadily and strongly to the jungle, with rapid beats and alternate sailings of
their wings. They alight generally within the edge o f the covert, and then run so long and swiftly as to render it quite hopeless
to follow them. There i$; no bird more difficult to approach, or even to ‘sé e ,! when in the jungle. The cocks may be heard of
a morning or evening crowing all round; but the utmost precaution will not, in most cases, enable the sportsman to creep within
shot or sight o f the bird. The hen, too, announces the important fact o f having laid an egg with the same vociferation as in the
domestic state, but is silent ere the stealthiest footstep can approach her hiding-place, and, gliding with stealthy feet under the dense
foliage, is soon far away in the deep recesses o f the jungle. To a stranger it is not a little curious to hear the familiar sounds of
our farmyards issuing from the depths of the wild forest. The crowing of the cocks, the cackling of the hens, the chirruping of
GALLUS FERRUGINEUS .
the chickens are -pfe,cirely the saíne as we have been accustomed to hear sir.ee the earliest dawn of our :n!el%c:tce, and, associated
as the homely sbunds are w ith ^ y lh z a |[ ( ^ a ñ (É íd |g ||^ t^ B S th e y appear oijt of place in the solitude’, of the Saul jungle!
■•Owing to its secluded h l § | ¡ ¡ hreedmg-h hits bird I f e very little A qucstmn has arisen amongst naturalists
as to whether the cock in its natural state is monogamous or polygamous: I air. i r c lin « : o think the latter, from seeing-always
so many liens to one male bird, and this in every season lc ) 'I nfbrmation I llave gathered- from bird catchers who
¿ S in the jungles during the twelve months, cena-ule conhrms the Shove conjecture The period of incubation varies, acbording
to locality hut ^generally at the fegm-nmghíófc: the: rains, i. e. Juno. I have seen e g g s f ^ ^ S i n March ¡a n d Jhrdon. says, the
¿ » b r e e d s a s ^ e S i in January 'and as late 'h " * ’M O thi pmT>°»c ° g F ecret tKloket m most retIred a"d
dense parPidf the jungle,' scraping together a f i S lH H o n the ground by way 'of nest She remains as part of tile! cocks
seéégho until ome even to tm « o * f d S e h ^ ^ K f e « b e e n d e p o s it^ p Jhe above spot, to which she stealthily repairs cvci^day;-.,
and finally quits her party and retires alone and' unseen to perform die duties of incubation. The chicks are hatched,- as usual, in
about twenty" days, and run ab jit following the-inoth.er as soon as‘.they have emerged from the- égg-shell; and she leads them about,
tffijfai»thein how to^find their own u tenance, tdl they arjSbig enough to slh # fo r themselves, by which tune the young-dodtafb;
finding that they cannot in^lmnSur 'coifil wiHnie-a few yards” of each other without- a battle,- separate, each one taking some of his
sisters with him « f e s e particulars % S r i gathered from native informants, but I can add, from my own experience, that ■ either
— „f mcubation is uncertain", ■ ¡ fe a t the hens lay in t f j ■ f l B B H | iiews * » ; * » « « «
birds, for bodi in February and in March i jB f h c á r d them em it c lfe ^ ^ u a j ic a c k le a j í * tu ktu k tu k la lam t'’ by which, every
omri knows, a hen m a farmyard: prochiunsnfo-the good hquscwife^a fresh cacquisitiora|o her larder.
“ The flesh of the Junglefowl under favourable circumstances is the most d li i i * all ; e - but that of tile old cock is
beyond human pothers of mastication A I g g f b ir d 'g g f t f f l moderately high c » iw d l y i g | distinguished bn flavour from the
Pheasant The pugnacity of the male a g g p t 111 its wild state as m domestication, and affords ready facilities for its death or
cantare The Burman and Talaing pm down a tame cock or tether him Illy the leg m some spot frequented by wild poultry,
when his cries soon attract a knight errant of the tribe either within range of a gun, or the grasp of snares-thickly sct r0™d the
decoy.,
“ Of the domesticated varieties o f this bird it is impossible to speak; they are legion and more suited to the study of a bird-fancier
than a „ H l li t f f i fp t .« I n t h e n u l j f c f e w e can t r ® affinity to two'd^tiict stocks-tlie f e r r u g .m u i , ^ ^ Galtm kW M M t
a very distinct species inhabiting Peninsular India, to which the speckled>coloured■ individuals and the.huge “ Hamburgh” and
Chittagong“ vanetiés hnawta^Preferred ; hut the httle Bantam Ídé4s‘ not appear<so f g d W ^ j j This variety lias ,he|»mfroduSed
from the island of that „nine, as well as other parts of the S.I and is in considerable request amongst the poultry
f i E e r ® Burma, where a breed possessmg 'an additional spurious huffidly formed thumb is in great? repute. As may be supposed,
I 1 nd Ai-ikanese gambleis from childhood are well veised i^ th e mysteiies of cock fi-htmg They ddnot
birds, as the promoters and Mowers of this refined amusement in England- do, hut give them the full benefit of- their plumes, and
arm them usually with but one ‘ steel,' a tremendous weapon in shape and size like a large penknife and generally fatal
few rounds. The great m a s s i f the poultry ¡«Burma and Arakan is of the .games breed, dfes¡¡Med¡> from Gallus ferrvgmeus, but
having acquired m proces of time 1 1 1 legs andjrealj increase o « j g The dunghill-cock seems, on the contrary, to have sprung-
from GaUus Smneratü. At the same lime it must be noted that the -singular wasy-lookmg appendage to the hackle of that bird
are never to be traced in the tame v a n e tie sE S ^ liave. apparently descended from- that species. “ . . . .
“ Though t h e 4 |S o f ? t i S Jungle fowl h a s ® pretensions to melody it possesses p g j variety of intonation and expiession The
crow of the male is too well known to require description. It is the same in all the varieties I have withp except', a
large breed reared in the Himala « u n g í n s by the Boleas and Eep'ckas, the 'dissimilarity of 'StmcMfjbe;
residents of Darjeeling. It is of four syllables—like « - t e -W a - o —n.eiioiyer, more musical than the crow oi the ion cock,, and
monotonous. The cry is a challenge to combat doubtless,'hut at t h e « g e h m e & j e g u l ^ periodical, the inclination to ‘ crow'
coming upon the bird apparently'every three f e f k h - t f f i/ i s , atothe commencement of every fresh w|tch, a division of time-descended
from reSitest-antiquity. When the cock has, discovered some fo o d jftic h he considers might he a c c e p ta b le® the members, of- his
harem, lie calls them to the spot with a deep, soft clucking, si,nil; to Unit - Inch the hen employs to-feed h er young, picks up rnidf,
lays down i f e morsels before them, and, while they a re ^ ^M y n fp e dm g , H h a about with great pride an d -an utter disregard of
his own gastronomic requirements Indeed, were it not for a mouthful now and then,, taken on the sly, it ,s difficult to: conceive
how the cock manages to sustain his portly body. On rare occasions intense hunger seems to overcome the poor fellows sense ol
his devoirs to the fair s ex , and I have a t sucll moments, to my great amusement, detected'him m th e act! of fi.rt.vely swaflowing
■ — I b o ltin g £ »& : the fice i — — her astonishment, just- as. she had been mvitedsto pa.« ! » it llerseK
When danger threatens,, especially in the-shape of a Hawk or K i t e « the air, (he. e o c k w p f ^ l o ^ p r ' a o d t , » unmistakable
warning lo -'look out,' on which the whole community of hens and young birds scamper under cover, whde the chief remains ready
to figllt all comers. These birds roost always on some eminence in, a. wild state, on trees in, the jungle ; and before all the party,
have settled to sleep the male occasionally gives n low, prolonged cooing whistle, to- which a Sien-or two sometimes respond. It appears