346 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



INDIAN GAME (SITTERS) 



GENKRAL CHARACTERISTICS 



Head. — Skull : Rather broad, long and deep, 

 not so "keen" as in English Game, nor so thick 

 as in Malays, yet slightly beetle-browed. Beak : 

 Short and well curved, stout where it is set on the 

 head, and giving the bird a powei^ful appearance. 

 Eyes : Full and bold. Comb : Pea type, small, and 

 fitting closely to the head. Face : Smooth and of 

 fine texture. Ear-lobes and Wattles : Small. Throat : 

 Bare, but not so much as in English Game, being 

 dotted with small feathers. (Note. — It is customary 

 to exhibit Indian Game cocks after being dubbed — 

 i.e. having their comb, ear-lobes, and wattles removed, 

 and leaving the head and lower jaw smooth and 

 free from ridges.) 



Neck. — Of medium length, fitted with short 

 hackle, which just covers the base of it. 



Body. — Broad and thickly set, short and fiat 

 back, prominent shoulder butts, fairly deep and 

 weU rounded breast. Back : Gradually tapering 

 from shoulders to tail. Wiitgs : Short and muscular, 

 carried rather high in front, but well rounded at 

 the point and closely tucked at the ends, and not 

 flat-sided. 



Tail. — Medium length, with short, narrow 

 secondary sickles and coverts, close and hard, and 

 with a slight droop. 



Legs and Feet. — Legs : Very strong and thick, 

 thighs round and stout, shanks of medium length, 

 and set well apart. (Note. — The shank should not 

 in any case be so long as that of the Malay, nor 

 in any way stilty, but of sufficient length to give 

 the bird a Game appearance.) Toes : Four on each 

 foot, long, straight, and strong, well -spread, with 

 the hind toe set low, nearly flat on the ground, 

 and extending backwards. 



Carriage. — Very \ipright and vigorous, with 

 sloping back. 



Weight. — lo lb. 



Plumage. — Narrow, short, hard, and close. 



Handhng. — Firm flesh, with plenty of muscle. 



HEN 



With the exception that the Tail is rather short, 

 well venetianed but close, and hardly so low, the 

 general characteristics of the hen are similar to 

 those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual 

 difierences. 



Weight.— 8 lb. 



COLOUR 



Beak : Horn or yellow. Eyes : Varying from 

 pale yellow to pale red. Comb, Face. Wattles, and 

 Ear-lobes : Brilliant red. Legs : Rich yellow or 

 orange. 



Plumage of the Cock. — Head, Neck, Breast, 

 Under-fltiff, Thighs, and Tail : Black, with a rich 

 ■green-black sheen, the base of the neck and tail 

 hackles a little broken with bay or chestnut, which 

 should be almost hidden by the body of the feathers. 

 Back : Glossy green-black (or beetle green), touched 

 on the fine fronds at the end of the feathers with 

 bay or chestnut, which gives the desired sheen. 

 Shoulders : Glossy green-black, slightly broken with 

 bay or chestnut in the centre of the feather or shaft. 



Wings : Bows, similar to shoulders ; secondaries, 

 glossy green-black on the inner web, and bay or 

 chestnut on the outer web, a triangular patch of 

 bay or chestnut alone showing when the wing is 

 closed ; primaries, deep black, except for about 

 2^ inches of a narrow lacing on the outer web of 

 a light chestnut. Tail-coverts (or furnishing) : Glossv 

 green-black, slightly broken with bay or chestnut in 

 the base of the shaft. 



Plumage of the Hen. — The ground colour is 

 chestnut brown, nut brown, or mahogany brown. 

 Head, Hackle, and Throat : Glossy green-black, or 

 beetle-green. The pointed Hackle that lies under 

 the neck feathers is glossy green-black, with a bay 

 or chestnut centre mark. The Breast, commencing 

 on the lower part of the throat and expanding into 

 double lacing on the swell of the breast, is of a rich 

 bay or chestnut, inner or double lacing being most 

 distinct, the Under-parts and Thighs being marked 

 somewhat similarly, and running off into a mixture 

 of indistinct marldngs under the vent and swell 

 of the thighs. The feathers of the Shoulders and 

 Back are somewhat smaller, enlarging towards the 

 tail-coverts, and are similarly marked with the 

 double lacing. The marldngs on the wingbows and 

 shoulders running down to the waist are the most 

 distinct of all, with the same kind of double lacing ; 

 and often in the best specimens there is an additional 

 mark enclosing the base of the shaft of the feather, 

 and running to a point in the second or inner lacing. 

 The Tail-coverts are seldom as distinctly marked, 

 but with the same style of marking. The Primary 

 or Flight Feathers are black, except on the inner 

 frond or web, which are a little coloured or peppered 

 with a light chestnut ; the secondaries are black on 

 the inner web, while the outer web is in keeping 

 with the general ground colour, and edged with a 

 delicate lacing of glossy green-black. The Wing- 

 coverts, which form the bar, are laced like those 

 of the body, and often a little peppered. The lacing 

 mentioned should be metallic glossy green-black or 

 beetle green, and should look as if embossed or raised. 



SCALE OF POINTS 

 Shape and colour of body and thighs, lo ; back, 



S ; breast, 8 ; wings, 8 . . . . . . 34 



Head ; skull, 3 ; eyes, 3 ; brows, 3 ; beak, 2 ; 



wattles, 2 ; lobes, 2 ; comb, 2 . . . . 17 



Carriage . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 



Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 



Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 



Shape and colour of tail . . . . . . . . 8 



Shape and colour of legs and feet . . . . 8 



Neck . . . . 3 



Serious dejects : Crooked back, beak, or legs ; 

 wry or squirrel tail ; in-knees or bow legs ; red 

 hackle ; flat side ; single or Malay comb ; and in 

 the hen, in addition, too light, too dark, or mealy 

 ground colour ; or defective marldngs. 



(It may be remarked that a scale of points is 

 not given in the annual report for 1909 issued by 

 the Indian Game Club, and that which appears 

 above is a copy of the one published in the former 

 — third — edition of the " Poultry Club Standards." 

 — W. W. Broomhead.) 



