JUNGLE FOWL. 45 



and the throat with a single, large wattle, springing from the 

 centre ; they are all bright red. Instead of the long hackles, as 

 on the neck of the domestic fowl, the plumage on their neck ia 

 remarkable for being short and rounded. The centre of these 

 feathers is of a deep, metallic blue, which shades towards the 

 edge to a golden green, and at the extremities they are furnished 

 with a narrow band of very deep black. The feathers of the 

 lower part of the back and tail coverts, are lengthened in the 

 usual hackle shape; are of a deep black in the centre, and 

 are bordered with a narrow stripe of pale yellow ; those forr 

 ing the wing coverts are of the same form, but the pale, nar- 

 row border is of a rich orange red : the whole under parts are 

 deep black. The tail, as in all the wild varieties, is more in a 

 line with the body, and has a slightly forked form ; the large 

 plume feathers are of a rich, metallic green, tinged with steel- 

 blue ; the bill, legs, and feet are yellow. The hen, as in all the 

 poultry, is much plainer than the cock : brownish, with golden 

 and greenish reflections. They are abundant in Java, and are 

 often seen on the edges of the woods and jungles, but are very 

 easily alarmed, and run to cover, and frequently mix with, and 

 cross the tame birds, but are themselves never domesticated. 



The last of the wild junyle fowl I shall name, is 



SONNERAT'S WILD COCK, 



Some fine living specimens, of which have been, for some years, in the 

 collection of the London Zoological Society, and have successfully 

 crossed with our domestic birds. It is a native of the continent 

 of India, inhabiting the higher wooded districts, particularly Hin- 

 dustan ; it is not so large as our domestic fowl, but nearly so ; the 

 comb is large, with serrated edge, and double wattles, from the 

 under mandible ; the long, hackled feathers have a very singular 

 appearance ; they have a dark, grayish ground, the shafts of a 

 bright, golden orange, and in the centre, aud at the tip, dilate 

 into a flat, horny plate, similar to what is seen in the wings and 

 tail of the Bohemian Wax- wing ; their appearance is both singular 

 and beautiful. The centre of the back, the throat, breast, belly, 

 and thighs, are of a deep and rich gray, having the shafts and 

 edges of a paler tint ; the tail is of a rich and deep green ; the 

 feathers which immediately succeed the long hackles, of a rich 

 purple, edged with pale yellow ; and those immediately suc- 

 ceeding, of a golden green, edged with gray ; the whole with very 



