PHASIANIDAE 20g 



with a wattle on each side of the latter, a spur on each meta- 

 tarsus, and ear-lappets, which are whitish in Indian examples, 

 but red in Burmese and Malay. The crown and the hackles of 

 the mantle and rump are orange-red, the back is chiefly purplish- 

 red, and the wings, tail, and under parts are glossy greenish- 

 black, with yellowish outer margins to the primaries and 

 brownish to the secondaries. Between June and September the 

 hackles and long tail plumes are replaced by short black feathers. 

 The hen has little comb, no wattles, spurs, or elongated rectrices ; 

 the crown is reddish and the mantle yellowish, both with black 

 stripes ; the wing- and tail-quills are brown and rufous ; the 

 remaining plumage being reddish-brown, deeper on the fore-neck 

 and brighter on the chest, with black mottling above. This 

 Jungle-fowl ranges from North-Eastern and Central India to 

 Hainan, and from Sumatra to the Philippines, Celebes, and 

 Timor ; frequenting thickets and forests up to five thousand feet, 

 but often flocking to cultivated country, where it feeds upon 

 leaves, seeds, insects, and especially grain. Pugnacious towards 

 its kin ^ it is timid with man, running with great speed or taking 

 refuge in trees ; the flight consists of alternate periods of flap- 

 ping and sailing, while the cluck of the hen and the crow of 

 the cock resemble those of domestic fowls, though the latter is 

 less prolonged. The nest is a hole lined with leaves, grass, or 

 plant-stems, containing from seven to twelve buff eggs ; polygamy 

 being apparently rare. G. sonnerati, the Grey Jungle-fowl of 

 Southern, Central, and Western India, is distinguishable by the 

 dilated shafts of the neck-hackles, with their wax-like yellow tips 

 or spangles ; G. lafayettii (stanleyi) of Ceylon by the yellow comb 

 with red margin, and the red breast. The former utters a broken 

 crow, the latter a double note, the eggs in both cases being spotted, 

 and occasionally whitish in ground-colour. G. varius of Java, 

 Lombok, and Flores, is greener, with truncated neck-feathers, an 

 uii serrated comb, and a single median wattle of red, yellow, and 

 blue-green. The hens of G. sonnerati and G. lafayettii have white 

 breast-plumage, barred and fringed with black, the former shew- 

 ing black mottlings instead of bars on the secondaries ; that of 

 G. varius has a buff breast and a blackish back. In these three 

 species crosses with domestic fowls are said to be usually sterile. 

 Chrysolophus pictus, the brilliant Golden Pheasant, has the 



^ Cock-fightiug in England is beyond the scope of this work. 

 VOL. IX P 



