470 



SONNERAT'S JUNGLE FOWL. 



i 



The head is decorated with an elegant crest of upright feathers, their shafts being nearly 

 devoid of web, and expanding at the extremities into a number of delicate barbs. The general 



color of the bird 

 is rich deep sat- 

 iny-violet , ap- 

 pearing black 

 except in certain 

 lights, and the 

 feathers of the 

 lower part of the 

 back are flaming 

 orange - red, the 

 depth of hue be- 

 ing changeable, 

 according to the 

 light. The tail 

 is smaller than 

 that of the do- 

 mestic cock, and 

 the central feath- 

 ers are snowy- 

 white, the others 

 being deep green 

 glossed with pur- 

 ple. The total 

 length of the 

 adult male is 

 about two feet. The female is smaller, and her plumage is 

 warm cinnamon-brown above and grayish-white below. 



SILVER PHEASANT.— Euplocomus nycthemerut 



BARN-DOOR POULTRY. 



We now arrive at the typical genus of the Gallimr, to which the ordinary barn-door 

 poultry, with all its multitudinous varieties, belongs. Our tirst example of this genus is the 

 beautiful Soxnerat's Jungle Fowl. 



This fine bird is a native of India, and is found chiefly in the wooded districts. Although 

 smaller than the common domestic fowl, it is a wonderfully powerful bird in proportion to its 

 size, and so fierce anil determined a combatant that the native sportsmen, who set great store 

 upon fighting cocks, always prefer a Jungle Cock as their champion. As in general appear- 

 ance it is something like the domestic fowl, some persons have supposed that it is the stock 

 from which our poultry were derived. The Bankiva Fowl, however, is thought with more 

 reason to be the original progenitor of these trseful birds. The very peculiar formation of the 

 hackles affords a good reason for believing that the domestic fowl is not the offspring of 

 Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl. The webs of the hackles and upper tail-coverts are dark gray, but 

 their shafts are bright orange, dilating in the centre and at the tip into flat, shining horny 

 plates of a brilliant orange hue, which give a peculiar splendor to the plumage, and are 

 discernible at a considerable distance, their tips being rounded instead of lancet-shape. 



The voice of this bird is rather startling, for at first sight it looks so like a game-cock, that 

 its crow strikes the ear in a very absurd manner. Every one knows the ludicrous attempts 

 made by a young cock to crow like his elders; how he breaks down just when he thinks 

 he is doing best, like a young lad with a cracked voice, trying to talk with a manly intona- 

 tion, and going unexpectedly from hoarse bass to sharpest treble. Give the young cock a sharp 



