540 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



Central India to the Pachmarri or Mahadeo hills, north of Nagpore, 

 and on the west coast to the Rajpeepla hills, where it meets the 

 Red Jungle-fowl. Its occurrence on the Pachmarri hills is most 

 probably its eastern extension from the Western Ghats and the 

 Kajpeepla hills, and it will probably be found all along the 

 Sathpoora range. I do not know of its occurrence east of the 

 Mahadeo hills, till the neighbourhood of the lower part of the 

 Godavery is reached. It is very abundant on the Malabar Coast, 

 especially in the more elevated districts, as in the Wynaad, and it 

 ascends to the summit of the Neilgherries ; it is also common 

 in suitable localities on the Eastern Ghats, and in the various 

 isolated ranges of hills in the south of India. It is not rare in 

 the Naggery hills near Madras, and is constantly brought for sale 

 to the Madras market. 



Like the last, it is particularly partial to bamboo jungles. 

 Early in the morning, throughout the Malabar Coast, the Wynaad, 

 &c.. Jungle-fowl may always be found feeding on the roads, and, 

 with dogs, you are certain of getting several shots on the road 

 side, the birds perching at once on being put up by dogs. In 

 some districts where they can be beaten out of the woods, and 

 especially on the Neilgherries, very pretty shooting is to be had 

 at this Jungle-cock, the sharply defined woods, or ' sholas' as they 

 are called, being well adapted to being beaten for game. The 

 Hen lays from February to May, generally having from seven to 

 ten eggs, of a pinky cream colour, under a bamboo clump. The 

 call of the Cock is very peculiar, being a broken and imperfect 

 kind of crow, quite unlike that of the Red Jungle-cock, and impos- 

 sible to describe. When taken from the jungles they are more wild 

 and not so easily domesticated as the Red Jungle-fowl ; but they 

 have bred in confinement with Hens of the common breed. 1 

 have already noticed the occurrence, in a wild state, of hybrids 

 between this and the Red Jungle-fowl. 



Ceylon possesses a separate species of Jungle-fowl, Gallus 

 Stanleiji, Gray, ( G. Lafayetti, Lesson ; lineatiis, Blyth), something 

 like BanJciva, but red beneath ; and Java has another very distinct 

 species, Gallus furcatus, Temminck. Several other races are 

 noted, but some of them are doubtful species, G. ceneus, Temm., 



