578 E. Cambridge Phillips, F. L. S. etc. 



Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road London, to which 

 my attention has since been specially called; this labelled 

 Gallus Domesticus, Common Fowl, Yowl, and was presented 

 by E. L. Layard Esq., il consists of 2 cocks, 2 hens 

 and I chick, they were shot in the woods on the island of 

 Taviuni and are descendants of domestic fowls left in the 

 Fiji Islands by the early voyagers more than a Century ago, 

 they have now reverted to the wild State. One of the cocks 

 is a perfect biack breasted red game fowl with a small 

 Single comb and wattles, drooping tail and in size about 

 half way between a game Bantam and a füll sized ordinary 

 blackred game cock. The other cock is the same size 

 but is especially noticeable for its peculiar plumages which 

 is evidently going back from the duckwing colour to the 

 blackred. This bird has its hockle a light straw or cream 

 colour like a duckwing cock, the rest of its plumage however 

 except for its lighter shade very much resembles a black 

 breasted red cock; the tail in this bird is füll and carried 

 rather upright, but this is I think the fault of the stuffer 

 otherwise the case is a marvel of taxidermy. The hens are 

 very light yellowish brown and are evidently in the transi- 

 tion stage from duckwing to blackred in the same way as 

 the last mentioned cock. The chick however is a genuine 

 little blackred cock chicken. In both cock birds the bar on 

 the wing is very strongly marked. 



Although naturalists generally agree that our domestic 

 poultry originally sprang from Gallus Bankiva yet I have 

 no doubt that in the early ages they existed for many cen- 

 turies somewhat in the above form, that is small black 

 breasted reds until in process of time by careful selection 

 and breeding in dififerent climates they very gradually de- 

 veloped into the various different breeds existing in the 

 present day. 



The following description of blackbreasted red game, 

 brown breasted red game and duckwing game is taken from 

 our »Standard of Excellence«. I therefore give it to explain 

 the colours of the breeds above alluded to: black game 

 should of course be all black and white game wholly white. 



