THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 5 



MeasuremenU.—^Sfxng 8" (203-2 mm.) to 9-6" (243-8 mm.); tail 

 anything between 12" (304-8 mm.) and 15" (381-0 mm.); tarsxis 

 about 3" (76-2 mm.) or rather more ; bill from gape abont 1-25" 

 (32-6 mm.) and from front about -80" (20-3 mm.) ; the spur is 

 generally about an inch (25-4 mm.) but I have seen one or two 

 specimens with spurs a full 2" (50-8 mm.). Weight, according to 

 Hume, lib. 12ozs. to 21bs. 4ozs., but one male shot by me in 

 Cachar weighed oxi\j just short of olbs. and two or three others 

 well over 2^1bs. The majority weight just under, rather than 

 over, 21bs. 



Post nuptial lylumage. — The cock Jungle-fowl has a sort of post 

 nuptial plumage caused by the moult of the neck hackles and the 

 long tail feathers, the former being replaced by short blackish 

 brown feathers. Often these same blackish feathers may be 

 observed in patches on other parts of the body, principally the back 

 and wing coverts. These feathers probably replace others lost by 

 accident or some other abnormal cause. 



This post nuptial plumage is interesting in that it corroborates 

 the theory that all extraordinary colouration or shape in any por- 

 tion of a bird's plumage is due to excess vitalit}' and with a drop 

 in the vitality to a sub-normal condition sombre colours or normal 

 shaped plumage is assumed. In many cases this post nuptial 

 plumage is never assumed and cock birds may be shot all the year 

 round in perfect feather. When assumed it is most irregular and 

 maj' be found in any month between May and October, though 

 generally the hackles are dropped in June and July and reassumed 

 in the September-October moult. 



[nvmature Male has the hackles less developed both on neck and 

 rump, and the black centres to these feathers comparatively broader 

 and far more visible ; as a rule also the neck hackles are more 

 yellow and less deep orange in tint. The cinnamon of the wing- 

 quills is darker, and the whole of their surface except at the basal 

 halves of the outer webs are finely powdered and vermiculated 

 with blackish ; the greater-wing coverts are also more or less 

 powdered in a similar way. 



Colours of soft farts. — Iris brown, or reddish brown ; wattles and 

 undeveloped comb duller than in the adult, and skin of face bluish 

 or leaden colour. 



Quite young Males in their first feathers are similar to females of 

 the same age. 



Adult Female. — Top of the head blackish brown, the feathers 

 broadly edged with golden yellow. In most birds the forehead is 

 more or less metallic crimson and this colour is produced backwards 

 as supercilia above and behind the ear coverts whence they widen 

 and meet on the foreneck in a broad gorget. In some specimens 

 the red will be found to occupy nearlj^ the whole of the fore crown 



