GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 235 



parent birds, keep collected together about one spot and descend towards their winter resorts as the 

 season advances ; but the forests are so densely crowded with long weeds and grass that they are 

 seldom seen till about November, when these have partially decayed, so as to admit of a view through 

 the wood." 



The Jewar feeds chiefly on the leaves of trees and shrubs : of the former the box and oak 

 are the principal ones ; of the latter, thicgall and a shrub something like privet. It also eats roots, 

 flowers, grubs, insects, acorns, seeds, and berries of various kinds, but in small' proportion as 

 compared with leaves ; in captivity it will eat almost any kind of grain. Though the most solitary 

 of our Pheasants, and in its native forests perhaps the shyest, it is the most easily reconciled to 

 confinement; even when caught old it soon loses its timidity, eating readily out of the hand, and 

 little difficulty is experienced in rearing it. 



" The Jewar," says Jerdon, " roosts in the trees ; and in winter, perhaps for warmth, seems to 

 prefer the low evergreens, with closely interwoven leaves and branches, to the larger trees which 

 overshadow them." 



We are without particulars respecting the incubation of this species. 



The JUNGLE FOWLS {Galli) have a powerful body, short wings, and a moderate-sized 

 graduated tail, consisting of fourteen feathers, placed vertically one above another. The beak is 

 strong, of medium length, arched at its culmen, and curved at the tip of the upper mandible ; the 

 high foot is armed with a spur ; a fleshy comb rises at the top of the head, and from the lower part 

 of the beak depend soft fleshy wattles ; the region of the cheek is bare. The thick, variegated 

 plumage is so prolonged on the upper tail-covers as to conceal the real tail, over which the flowing 

 feathers fall in graceful sickle-shaped curves. India and the Malay Islands seem to be the native 

 abodes of these birds, each species, however, having its peculiar habitat. All the members of the 

 group lead a retired life within the recesses of woods and forests, and for this reason we are but 

 little acquainted with any minute details concerning the habits of many species. 



THE KASINTU, OR RED JUNGLE FOWL. 



The Kasintu, or Red Jungle Fowl {GaHus Bankiva), is a most gorgeous bird, having its head, 

 throat, and the flowing feathers on the nape of glossy golden yellow, those on the back are purplish 

 brown, with bright orange-red centre, and yellowish brown edges ; the long feathers of the upper tail- 

 covers are golden yellow, those of the middle wing-covers chestnut-brown, shaded -svith blackish 

 green ; the breast-feathers are black, with a golden green lustre ; the dark, blackish grey primaries 

 have light borders, the secondaries are rust-red on the outer and black on the inner web ; the black tail 

 is glossy at its centre and quite lustreless at its sides. The eye is orange-red, the comb red, the back 

 brownish, and the foot slate-grey. This species is twenty-five inches long ; the wing measures eight 

 inches and a half and the tail fourteen inches. The female is smaller than her mate, and auries her 

 tail lower, and in her the comb and fleshy wattles are only indicated. The long neck-feathers are 

 black, edged with whitish yellow, and those of the mantle dotted with brownish black ; the under 

 portions of the body are creamy yellow, and the quills and tail brownish black. This beautiful and 

 well-known species, which is generally supposed to be the original stock of our domestic poultry-, 

 closely resembles some of the British Dunghill Cocks in plumage, but is considerably less in size. 

 This bird appears to have been domesticated in the East at a very early date, and must have been 

 introduced into Europe in very ancient times. It was well known to the Greeks and Romans, who, 

 like our own people at a very recent period, and many Eastern nations at the present day, delighted 

 in the cruel spectacle of a cock-fight. The Red Jungle Fowl is found from the Himalayas south- 



