C A L L U S S T A N L E Y!
Gallus lafayettii, Lesson.
Vernacular HsaiCS.—[WALI-KUKUTE, Ctyhn. 1
•i I T H this handsome species, which is entirely confined
S to the Island of Ceylon, I have unfortunately no
fej personal acquaintance, and can only, therefore, re-
T* produce what others have recorded in regard to it.
T H E CEYLON JUNGLE-FOWL, " says Mr. Holdsworth,
" is remarkable not only for being peculiar
to t h e island, but also for being common in all parts of
it where the country is uncultivated and there is jungle of a
moderate height. Although especially abundant in the low
country, it is often very numerous even on the upper hills, and
is attracted to the particular localities where the " nilioo," the
native name for some species of Strobilanthes growing at 5,000
feet and upwards, is, at the time, in seed.
"At daybreak tbe crow of the Jungle-Cock is first heard ;
and for an hour or two after sunrise, if the birds arc at all
numerous, they may be heard challenging each other on all
sides. On these occasions a successful shot may sometimes
be obtained by remaining perfectly still between two birds
which are challenging and gradually approaching each other.
Some of t he native hunters are very expert in calling t he
Jungle-Cocks, by beating on a loose fold of their cloth, so as to
produce an imitation of t h e sound of a bird's wings just as it is
alighting : no time must be lost with the gun on these occasions,
as the cocks discover the deception the moment they get
sight of you, and instantly run off with drooping tails like
Pheasants.
" I t is not difficult in favourable jungle to approach a calling
bird within easy shot; and under these circumstances I have
generally found the cock strutting up and down a low horizontal
branch of a tree, raising and lowering its head, and every
now and then giving utterance to its peculiar crow, which has
been likened to the sound of " George Joyce!' When the bird
is tolerably close, the syllable " ek" is h e a r d preceding those two
sounds, which arc so familiar to persons who have been wandcr