PHAStANID.. 



PHASIANID^E. 



230 



Komrah of the Mahrattas ; Jungle Cock and Jungle Fowl of the 

 English sportsmen in India. 



The size of the male ia nearly equal to that of a domestic cock ; but 

 the bird is altogether lighter, more graceful, and has a higher bred look 

 about it ; comb large, and with an unequal margin, but though this 

 margin is jagged, it is not deeply dentilated ; wattles double, depending 

 from the base of the lower mandibles ; hackles of the neck and of the 

 wing and tuil-coverta dark-grayish, with bright golden-orange shafts 

 dilating in the centre and towards the tip into a flat horny plate. In 

 some of these feathers the shaft takes an elliptical or oar-like shape ; 

 n others it puts on the appearance of a long inverted cone, from the 



Jungle Cock (Gallm Sonntralii], male. 



Jungle Fowl (Hallos Kannernlii}, female. 



centre of the base of which a battledore-like process arixes. The 

 substance and appearance of these plates have been not inaptly com- 

 pared with the wax-like plates which ornament the wings and tail of 

 the Bohemian Chatterer. [BoMBYCiLLA.] The effect produced by 

 this modification of the shafts is singular and beautiful. Feathers of 

 the middle of the back, breast, belly, and thighs, deep rich gray, with 

 paler shaft* and edges ; tail generally rich deep-green ; tbe feathers 

 which immediately succeed the hackleg are rich purple, with a pale- 

 yellow edge; those next in succession are golden-green, with gray 

 KAT. HMT. DIV. VOL. IV. 



edges, and all are glossed with brilliant metallic reflections. Bill, legs, 

 and feet, yellow. The living bird presents altogether a rich and 

 striking object, especially when the sun shines on the plumage. 



Female less than the cock by about a third, without comb or wattles, 

 but a trace of nakedness round the eye. The plumage (generally) is 

 without the horny structure which distinguishes that of the male. 

 Upper parts uniform brown ; neck feathers with dark edges, those of 

 the back and wing-coverts with a pale streak along the shaft, and those 

 of the wings, tail-coverta, and tail, waved and mottled with darker 

 pencillings; throat and front of the neck white ; feathers of the rest 

 of the lower parts grayish-white, edged with dark brown, which pre- 

 dominates towards the vent. Legs and feet bluish-gray. 



Colonel Sykes, in his valuable Catalogue, notes this noble bird as 

 being very abundant in the woods of the western Ghauts, where (and 

 this is well worthy the attention of ornithologists) he says there are 

 either two species or two very strongly marked varieties. In the 

 valleys, at 2000 feet above the sea, he tells us Sonnerat's species is 

 found slender, standing high upon the legs, and with the yellow carti- 

 laginous spots on the feathers, even in the female. In the belts of 

 wood on the sides of the mountains, at 4000 feet above the sea, there 

 is a short-legged variety. The male has a great deal of red in the 

 plumage, which Sonnerat's has not ; the female is of a reddiah-brown 

 colour, and is without cartilaginous spots at all : " in fact," continues 

 the Colonel, " the female of this variety is the 0. Stanleyi of Mr. Gray's 

 ' Illustrations.' " 



Dr. Latham remarks that this Jungle Fowl is by far the boldest and 

 strongest for its size, and that it is anxiously sought after by cock- 

 fighters in Hindustan, who rely on it for victory when pitted against 

 larger game cocks. 



Individuals of this species have been exhibited alive in the Gardens 

 of the Zoological Society in the Regent's Park. 



But whatever may have been the source or sources from which our 

 domestic poultry sprang, and the probability is that more than one 

 wild race have contributed to improve it, the varieties in a reclaimed 

 state are almost infinite. The Spanish breed, entirely black, grows to 

 a considerable size, and the eggs are remarkable for their volume. 

 The Dorking poultry have long been celebrated, and they are known 

 principally by having supernumerary toes. The true Dorkings are 

 purely white, and are much esteemed for the table. Dr. Latham 

 mentions one of this breed that weighed nearly 14 Ibs. Some of the 

 Sussex fowls are very fine. The fancy breeds are very numerous ; for 

 an account of these see POULTRY, in ARTS AND Sc. DIV. 



Tragopan, Cuvier (Ceriarnii, Swainson). Head crested on the 

 crown, partly naked (on the cheeks and round the eyes), the naked 

 parts terminating in horn-like caruncles behind tbe eyes; under the 

 lower mandible and on the forepart of the throat a subpendent com- 

 posite carunculated wattle. Tarsi armed with a blunt spur in the 

 male ; unarmed hi the female. 



Mr. Gould ('Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains') 

 remarks that the genus Tragopan appears to take an intermediate 

 station between that of Mdeagris and the more typical Phasianidce, 

 forming one of the links of a chaiu connecting these groups of the 

 Rasorial order. The affinity of this genus, he observes, to that of 

 Meleagrit, ia evident in many characters; nor are some wanting 

 which indicate a relationship to Numida, and even to Francolinits. 

 [PERDICID>E.] 



T. Satyrut appears to have been the only species originally known. 

 Mr. Gould, in his ' Century,' describes another species. T. Uaitingsii, 

 and refers to another, which Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, has 

 dedicated to M. Temminck. (' Indian Zoology.') 



T. Hattingiii. Head of the adult male covered with a pendent 

 crest of feathers, which, as well as the ear-coverts and throat, are 

 black ; the neck and shoulders are rich maroon ; the chest rich glossy 

 orange-red ; the naked skin around the eyes is red ; tbe fleshy horns 

 and wattles mingled blue and purple ; the upper parts exhibit a mix- 

 ture of zigzag lines and marks of dark and light brown, with numerous 

 and distinct spots of white; each of the upper tail-coverts ends in a 

 large white eye, bordered on the sides with brown, and tipped with 

 black ; the tail deepens till it ends in uniform black ; the feathers of 

 the under surface are maroon, largely tipped with black, in the centre 

 of which is a large white spot ; the beak is black, the tarsi brown. 



In the young male the plumage is much less brilliant, the wattles 

 being of a pale flesh-colour, and little developed, as is also the naked 

 skin of the face. ' 



The plumage of the female consists of a uniform brown, mottled 

 and barred with mingled lines and dots of various tints, the feathers 

 of the back and chest having a central dash of a lighter colour ; the 

 head is crested, with short rounded feathers ; the sides of the cheeks 

 are clothed, and there are neither fleshy horns nor wattles. (Gould.) 



Mr. Gould observes, that although this species and T. Satyrut are 

 closely allied to each other, and doubtless possess similar habits and 

 manners, he is led to believe that their local distribution is somewhat 

 different ; at least, he generally receives but one species in a collection 

 from the same quarter; T. Satyrut being transmitted from the Nepauleae 

 Hills, while T. Hattingni is sent from the more northern range of the 

 Himalayas. He further well observes that the changes of plumage 

 which birds of this genus, especially T, Haitingiii, undergo in passing 



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