INTRODUCTORY 7 



architecture of the fowl. Many anatomical 

 features point to the descent of birds from a 

 reptilian ancestor, from which, it is generally- 

 held, mammals have also descended ; birds 

 and mammals having followed different lines 

 of evolution in accordance with differences of 

 environmental and physiological demand. 



The more immediate ancestry of the domestic 

 fowl is not without its obscurities ; but it 

 seems very likely that from Gallus ferrugineus, 

 or Jungle-fowl, the domestic fowl had its origin. 

 It must be admitted that this ancestry has not 

 been universally accepted, but available evid- 

 ence appears to lend greater support to this 

 than to rival views. Gallus ferrugineus (or 

 bankiva) occurs in northern India, Burma, 

 Cochin China, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, 

 the Celebes and Philippines, and some of the 

 islands of the Malay Archipelago {e.g, Timor). 

 The Jungle -fowl resembles the "black -red" 

 game fowl, but carries the tail in a drooping 

 position. Tradition points to Burma as the 

 country in which the fowl was first domesti- 

 cated. Then it passed eastwards into China 

 about 1400 B.C., and, later, westwards into 

 Persia and thence to Greece. 



Its descent from the Jungle-fowl doubtless 



