October 31. 1919 Vol. VII, pp. 23-25 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



NEW ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL CLUB 



THE NAME OF THE COMMON JUNGLE FOWL 



BY OUTRAM BANGS AND THOMAS EDWARD PENARD 



In the 'Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum' 

 (XXII, 1893, p. 344) the jungle fowl appeared as Gallus gallus 

 (Linn.)' (Syst. Nat., I, 1766, p. 270), no subspecies being re- 

 cognized by Ogilvie-Grant. Somewhat later Hartert (Nov. 

 ZooL, IX, 1902, p. 218) rejected the specific name gallus on ac- 

 count of its domestic origin, giving his reasons at length. This 

 opinion was also held by Blanford (Fauna Br. India, Birds, 

 IV, 1898, p. 75) whom Stuart Baker followed in his account of 

 the Game Birds of India (Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, XXV, 

 1917, p. 8). Very recently Kloss (The Ibis, (10), VI, 1918, p. 81) 

 again takes the other view that the specific name gallus must 

 be used for one of the wild jungle fowls. 



It is thus obvious that the names by which the currently 

 recognized races of the jungle fowl should be known, must be 

 fixed once for all by the rules of nomenclature. In attempting 

 to do this, we are not reviewing the species; we deal only with 

 the three subspecies — the Indian, the Chinese-Malayan, and 

 the Sundanese forms — which ornithologists at present are in- 

 clined to recognize. The number of subspecies may subse- 

 quently be increased, or may be reduced, without changing the 

 names which we decide upon and which we trust may be con- 

 sidered permanent. 



The disposition of names by Stuart Baker cannot stand; the 

 name ferrugineus as used by him cannot apply to the Indian 

 bird, being only a new combination by Blyth. 



