MISCELLANEA. 

 Birds. 



A further note on the Red Jungle FowL 



In our paper '' On the proper name of the Red Jungle Fowl 

 from Peninsular India," ' Mr. H. C. Robinson and I expressed doubt 

 as to the wildness of the birds of Pulo Condore which Linnaeus 

 cited under Phasianus gallus {Syst. Nat., ed. 12,1758, p 270) 

 because Mr. W. J. F. Williamson's bird-collectors, who visited the 

 island last year, obtained no specimens. 



I have, however, recently been looking up accounts of Pulo 

 Condore and the following two passages show quite clearly that 

 there is, or was, a Jungle Fowl on the island. 



The first is from Dampier's ''Voyage round the World." 

 He visited the group in 1687 and wrote : — 



''Here are many sorts of birds, as Parrots, Parakites, Doves 

 and Pigeons. Here are also a sort of wild Cocks and Hens. They 

 are much like our tame Fowl of that kind ; but a great deal less, 

 for they are about the bigness of a Crow. The Cocks do crow 

 like ours, but much more small and shrill ; and by their crowing 

 we do first find them out in the Woods where we shoot them. 

 Their flesh is very white and sweet." 



The other is from the " Voyage of Discovery to the Pacific 

 Ocean" (Captain Cook's Third Voyage), Vol. Ill, 1874, by Captain 

 King, LL.D., F.R S. He wrote (p. 463) of his visit in 1780:— 



" Our sportsmen were very unsuccessful in their pursuit of the 

 feathered game, with which the woods are well stocked. One 

 of our gentlemen had the good fortune to shoot a wild hen ; and 

 all the shooting parties agreed that they heard the crowing of the 

 cocks on every side, which they described to be like that of our 

 common cock, but shriller; that they saw several of them on the 

 wing, but that they were exceedingly shy. The hen that was 

 shot was of a speckled colour, and of the same shape, though not 

 quite so large, as a full grown pullet of this country. Monsieur 

 Sonnerat has entered into a long dissertation, to prove that he 

 was the first person to determine the country to which this most 

 beautiful and useful bird belongs, and denies that Dampier met 

 with it here." * 



So there can be no objection to accepting Linnaeus ' Pulo 

 Condore birds as Jungle Fowl. 



i Rec. Ind. Mus. XIX, pp 13-15 (1920). 



2 Sonnerat, however, though writing about Jungle Fowl, was really dealing 

 with another species— his " Coq Sauvage des Indes " {Gallus sonnerati Temm.) 

 and not with the present one. 



