JUNGLE-FOWL. 215 



feathers, having white centres, succeeded by a line of black and fringed with blue 

 the black portion minutely dotted with white. The mantle is black, spotted wit h 

 white; the centre of breast beautiful light blue; Hanks rich purple, spotted with 

 white, the spots encircled with black; tail like the mantle, the central rectrices Ion"- 



C3 



and pointed ; the head and neck naked, with the exception of a patch of short chc-st- 

 nut feathers on the occiput. 



Two curious west African birds, Agelastes meleagrides, and Phasidus niger, com- 

 pose the sub-family Agelastinre. They seem to be a kind of link between the jungle- 

 fowl, Gallus, and the Guinea-hens, having bare heads and necks, and the tarsi armed 

 with spurs. Not very much is known about them, very few specimens having been 

 obtained. The first has a flesh-colored head and neck, all the upper part of bre:ist 

 and back pure white, and the rest of plumage black vermiculated with white. The 

 P. niger is black, the feathers obscurely mottled with brown. Head and neck flesh- 

 color, and a line of black feathers, very short, from the base of the bill to the occiput. 

 This last was discovered by Du Chaillu near Cape Lopez. He states that the species 

 is not gregarious, a male and one or two females at most being found together, and is 

 extremely wild and wary. 



The jungle-fowl compose the sub-family Gallinas. There are four well-established 

 species, and a possibly doubtful fifth, Gallus stramineicollis, from Sulu. From these 

 gallant game-birds spring all the different species of the common fowl. Two species 

 are island forms, G. varius from Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Flores, and G. lafay- 

 etti from Ceylon. The first is remarkable for having the neck hackles square at the 

 tips, and but a single median wattle, in place of one on each side of the face, as is 

 usual with other jungle-fowls. This wattle, and the comb, which is not serrated, are 

 of brilliant hues, the last being green along the head, succeeded by a narrow yellow 

 line, then reddish shading off into dark purple, while the wattle has two thirds of the 

 upper parts deep rose, then yellow, and the bottom deep green. The sides of the 

 head are flesh-color, and the throat yellow, both bare of feathers. The Ceylon bird has 

 also a curiously colored comb, which is serrated on the upper edge, of a bright red 

 with a central yellow patch that graduates into the surrounding color. The other 

 species are G. sonnerati, of southern India; and G.ferrugineus, of north India, Assam, 

 Burmah, and the Malay countries ; also doubtfully from Turkestan and the islands of 

 Sumatra, Lombok, and Timor; probably imported into the last two named. As 

 their trivial name implies, these birds are native of jungle tracts and deep forests, 

 though they will come out into the open cultivated ground near their retreats to glean 

 among the stubble. In such places, when approached, they take wing readily, flying 

 steadily with rapid beats and alternate sailings, alighting at the edge of the covert, 

 and run swiftly into some place of concealment. The cocks crow and the hens cackle 

 the same as barn-yard fowls, but in somewhat sharper tones. The cocks usually carry 

 the tail drooping, erecting it only when challenging a rival or paying court to the 

 hens. The males fight desperately among themselves, and death often follows the 

 stroke of the terrible spur. In their wild state these birds are said to be monogamous, 

 although some observers doubt if this is always the case. The above remarks apply 

 more particularly to the G. ferrucjineus. Sonnei'at's jungle-fowl is not gregarious, but 

 goes only in small coveys or singly or in pairs. They like the thin bamboo jungle 

 and evergreen forests, and only congregate in numbers where food is exceptionally 

 plenty. This species retains its wildness in captivity and cannot easily be induced to 

 breed. The flesh is not very good, being dry and hard, and the species is considered 



