142 JUNGLE-FOWL. 



parent birds bring it from a great distance ; but as 

 we have seen that they readily adapt themselves 

 to the difference of situation, this is scarcely pro- 

 bable. It is, therefore, likely, that they collect 

 dead leaves and other vegetable matter, and which 

 when decomposed, forms this particular descrip- 

 tion of soil. These mounds are doubtless the 

 work of many years, and of many birds in suc- 

 cession, some of them being evidently very ancient, 

 trees being often seen growing from their sides. 

 The natives do not agree as to the way in which 

 the young make their escape ; some asserting that 

 they find their way unaided, and others, that the 

 old birds, knowing when the young are ready to 

 emerge from their confinement, scratch down and 

 release them. 



The natives also assert, that only a single pair 

 of birds are ever found at one mound at a time ; 

 and such, from observations Mr. Gilbert made, 

 is probably the case. They also affirm, that the 

 eggs are deposited at night, at intervals of several 

 days ; a statement which appears to be correct, as 

 four eggs taken on the same day, and from the 

 same mound, contained young in different stages 

 of developement. The fact, that they are always 

 placed perpendicularly, is established by the con- 

 current testimony of different tribes of natives. 



The jungle-fowl is almost exclusively confined 

 to the dense thickets immediately adjacent to the 



