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. CHAPTER XVII. 



THE RUMPLESS FOWL, OR RUMKIN. 



BLAINE, in his Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports, (London, 

 1840,) says, " Of the feathered tribes of Ceylon, the most re- 

 markable is the tailless Cock, ( Gallus ecaudatus, Temm. fig. 

 25,) at present, we believe, only known in its wild state in the 

 forests," &c. It may appear too skeptical in us to question 

 whether it be now to be found wild in the forests of Ceylon,* 



* It is hardly possible to cavil at Temminck's evidence of its ex- 

 istence there. In reply to Buffon's fairy tale that Cocks, when trans- 

 ported to Virginia, lose that portion of their person on which the tail 

 grows a romance that seems to have imposed on the sober Doctor 

 Latham he says, "We can positively state that Buffon's opinion 

 has not been confirmed ; this Rumpless Cock was not originated in 

 the New World, since the primitive species inhabits the Island of 

 Ceylon ; the Hen makes her nest on the ground ; it is rudely con- 

 structed with fine grass, and resembles the nest of Partridges. The 

 disposition of this bird is wild ; the Cock frequently utters his crow, 

 which, though less sonorous than that of our Domestic Cocks, has 

 still the same cadence. The Cingalese designate this species by the 

 name of Wallikikili, which means, Cock of the Woods. The distinct- 

 ive characters of this species consist in the want of the last vertebra 

 of the back, on which grows the carnosity that we term ' rump :' 

 the absence of this vertebra is the natural cause that Cocks and 

 Hens of this species are without the caudal feathers, as well as all 

 the coverts, which in other birds are planted on the rump ; this species 



