658 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 11 



scalloped comb, a sort of beard dependinf^ from 

 the under mandible, the tail a little elevated above 

 the level of the rump, and the feathers somewhat 

 imbricated. The leathers of the neck or hackles 

 are long, pendant, and rounded at the tips, and of 

 the finest golden red ; the head and back arefivvn- 

 colored ; the wing-coverts iire dusky, brownish, 

 and black ; and the tail and belly are black. 



The li^male is of a dusky ash-grey and yellow- 

 ish color, and has her comb and the beard under 

 the mandible much smaller than the cock, with no 

 feathers on the neck besides the long hackles. 



M. Leschenault brought specimens ot these 

 birds, male and female, Irom the Island of Java, 

 and deposited them in the museum at Paris. Ac- 

 cordinij to M. Temminck, they inhabit the forests 

 and the borders of woods, and are exceedingly 

 wild and shy. On examining this species, it will 

 be fbimd to exhibit many points of resemblance 

 with our own barn-door fowls of the middle size, 

 the (orm and color being the same, the comb and 

 wattles similar; while the hen so much resembles 

 a common hen, that it is difficult to distinuuish it, 

 except by the less erect slant of the tail. The rise 

 of the tail is much more apparent in the cock ; but 

 it may be observed, that in all the wild species 

 knovtn, the tad does not rise so hii;h above the le- 

 vel of the rump, nor is it so abundantly provided 

 with covering feathers as in some breeds. It may 

 be that the superabundance of nourishment, and 

 the assiduous care of man, have contributed to the 

 greatest developement of all their organs. Va- 

 rious tame breeds, indeed, such as the tufted, the 

 Hamburgh, the double-combed varieties, and 

 others, shew that domestication produces infinite 

 varieties. 



The Java cock very much resembles, both in 

 form and color, the tame Turkish and Bantam va- 

 rieties of the barn-door fowl ; but the tail differs in 

 being nearly horizontal and vaulted in the Java 

 species, while in others it is more raised, and forms 

 two upright planes, meeting above and diverging 

 below. The hackles, or feathers which fall from 

 the neck over the top of the back, are, as in the 

 lame barn-door varieties, long, with divided 

 plumelets or beards, the feather widening a little, 

 and being rounded. The plumage is decorated 

 with exceedingly brilliant colors. The head, the 

 neck, and all the long feathers of the back, which 

 hangover the rump, are of a shining flame-color- 

 ed orange; the top of the back, the small and 

 middle coverts of the wings, are of a fine maroon- 

 purple ; the greater wing-coverts are black, tinged 

 with iridescent green; the quill-feathers of the 

 wintjs are ferruginous red on the outer, and black 

 on the inner edges ; the breast, belly, thighs, and 

 tail are black, tinged with iridescent green ; the 

 comb, cheeks, throat, and wattles, are of a more 

 or less vivid red ; the legs and feet are iirey, and 

 furnished with strong spurs ; ilie iris of the eye is 

 yellow. 



The female is smaller than the male, and her 

 tail also is a little horizontal and vaulted ; she has 

 a small comb and very short wattles; the space 

 round the eyes is naked, as well as the throat; 

 and, on this space, are some small feathers, dis- 

 liint fi-ora each other, through which the red skin 

 can he seen ; the breast and belly are light-grey 

 or fawn-colored ; on each feather is a small clear 

 ray along the side of the mid-rib or stem ; the 

 feathers of the base of the neck are long, with 



disunited beards or plumelets of a black color in 

 the middle, and fringed with ochre-yellow ; the 

 back, the coverts, the wings, the rump, and the 

 tail, are earthy-grey, marked with numerous black 

 zig-zags ; the large leathers of the Avings are ci- 

 nereous-grey. 



The reason which M. Temminck gives for be- 

 lieving that the Java cock is the wild stock of our 

 ilomestic breed, or from which it derives at least 

 its main origin, are. the close resemblance of their 

 li'males to many of our tame hens; the nature of 

 the feathers, and the forms and disiribution of the 

 barbs, which are absolutely the same in many of 

 our tame cocks ; and because it is in this species 

 alone that the females are furnished with a comb 

 and small vvattles, characters not to be found in 

 any other known wild species. 



Another wikl species, the jungle cock, has been 

 maintained by Count Bufibn and others to be the 

 origm of our domestic breeds ; but it will be evi- 

 dent fmm the f()llowing description that this o])in- 

 ion is erroneous. 



2. Jungle Cock. 



Chah. Spf.c. — Gallus Sonneratii, Temm. Male: 

 Comb toothed, compressed ; throat wattled beneath; 

 ears naked ; tail compressed and ascending ; feathers 

 of the neck cartilaginous, spotted, with yellow car- 

 tilaginous tips ; wing-coverts reddish-chestnut, with 

 the top enlarged, cartilaginous, fulvous: breast 

 somewhat red : body varied with grey, white, and 

 red; tail-feathers shining violet. Female less in 

 size, and without comb and wattles ; head feather- 

 ed ; body variegated with dull brown and red. 

 Phasianus Gallus, Lath. Ind. Ord. ii. 625. Gmel. 

 Syst. Nat. i. 737, sp. 1. Linn. Faun. Suec. No. 19. — 

 Le Coq Sauvage, Sonnerut, Voy. Ind. ii. 153, tab. 

 94, male ; and 160, tab. 95, fern. Buff, par Sonni- 

 ni, v. 206, pi. 37, fig. 1 & 2. Bonat. Tab. End. 

 Orn. 180, pi. S6. fig. 5. Coq et Poule, Sonnerat, 

 Temm. Pig. et Gallin. ii. 246, Tab. Anat. iii. fig. 1 

 &. 2, a feather of the neck and one of the wing-co- 

 verts. — Wild Cock, Lalh. Synop. iv. 698. — Inhabits 

 India : Length 3 feet 4 inches ; comb and wattles 

 red ; feet armed with great crooked spurs. 



Descrtption.^-The jungle-cock measures three 

 feet four inches in length, and inhabits the great 

 forests of India, continues to reproduce there in 

 the wild state, and is clearly distinct from the do- 

 mestic varieties reared in the same countries by 

 the Hindoos, these resembling, in all respects, the 

 tame breed of fowls in all other quarters of the 

 globe. M. Sonnerat, however, thought very dif- 

 ferently, and prided himself much on his supposed 

 discovery of this as the origin of our common 

 fowls, rejecting the statements of Dampier and 

 others as to the existence of wild fowls, probably 

 the Java species, in Timor, and other islands of 

 the Indian seas. 



The present species is one-third less in size than 

 our dunghill cock, and, from the level of the feet to 

 the summit of the head, the comb not being inclu- 

 ded, it measures 14| inches; the comb is indent- 

 ed ; the wattles resemble those of our dunghill 

 cock, but the naked parts of the tliroat and head 

 are more considerable. The feathers of the head 

 and neck are longest on the lower parts, and their 

 form and structure are different from those of the 

 same parts in other cocks, whether wild or tame. 

 The midrib or stem of these feathers is gross, and 

 considerably expanded, forming a white stripe 



