CHAPTEE III 



THE CHIEF KINDS OF POULTRY 



" T^VIFFEEENT kinds of poultry, the originals of 

 JL/ our domestic species, are living to this day in 

 a wild state in the forests of Asia, notably in India, 

 and in the Philippine Islands and Java. The most 



noteworthy is the 

 Bankiva or red jun- 



plumage, and habits 

 the male bird bears 

 a striking resem- 

 blance to the com- 

 mon rooster of our 



Red jun g ie Fowl poultry-yards ; but 



in size it is smaller 



even than the partridge. It has a scalloped red 

 comb, a tail of arched plumage, and a neck orna- 

 mented with a falling tippet of bright, golden-red 

 feathers. This graceful little cock, irritable and full 

 of fight, has the habits of ours. He struts proudly at 

 the head of his flock of hens, over whose safety he 

 watches with extreme care. If hunters range the 

 forest, or if some dog prowls in the neighborhood, the 

 vigilant bird, quick to perceive, suspects an enemy. 

 He immediately flies to a high branch and thence 

 gives forth a cry of alarm to warn the hens, which 



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