i82 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



roads in the Malay States, one comes suddenly upon a group of fowls, instead of 

 blundering ahead or with frightened squawks and frantic, awkward beating of wings 

 flopping toward their native coops, they often rise swiftly, and with the greatest ease 

 fly out over the steep slope, all together like a flock of doves, then circle around and 

 come back to the road some distance behind. This reveals clearly the recent admixture 

 of wild blood, and is correlated with a much lower fertility than exists among more 

 carefully-bred domestic strains. 



DAILY ROUND OF LIFE 



The food of Junglefowl, in keeping with their other rather generalized habits, is 

 of an omnivorous character. They are, however, graminivorous on the whole, and 

 in the crops of birds which I have shot at a considerable distance from cultivation 

 I have always found vegetable matter predominating. Small nuts and seeds of 

 unknown plants are often taken in considerable quantities, besides which the young 

 shoots of bamboo and other grasses, leaves, petals and wild seeds of all kinds are eaten. 

 As with all other pheasants, the larvae and eggs of white ants or termites are enjoyed, 

 and the birds will go to considerable trouble to scratch and peck away the hard earthen 

 tunnels and mounds of these insects to expose the nurseries with their abundant 

 tenants. A certain discrimination seems to be exerted in the choice of pebbles, which 

 are swallowed, and the gizzard is often partly filled with bright and shining bits of 

 stone. Seventeen sapphires have been taken from a single hen Junglefowl. 



The greater number of birds which make their home in the immediate vicinity 

 of native villages and cultivated fields lose no opportunity to make the most of such 

 advantages. Associating so freely with the domestic fowls, they are thus protected to 

 a great extent from direct attack with guns and traps, the natives not wishing to sacrifice 

 their own useful fowls. After the harvest has been gathered, Junglefowl in early 

 morning or late evening may be seen gleaning in the grain-fields, in loose flocks of 

 ten to twenty birds.- The damage they do, however, is not great, and their wariness 

 makes it an easy matter to drive them from the fields. 



Besides fattening on the millet and rice when these grains become ripe, Junglefowl 

 share throughout the year the habits of domestic birds in haunting cow-sheds, and the 

 sign of animals which travel over the jungle roads and trails. The easiest way to catch 

 at least a glimpse of these birds in any locality which they are known to inhabit is to 

 walk quietly along the roads near the forests in the cool of early morning. Even where 

 wild cocks and hens form close associations with domestic birds they usually keep to 

 their feral habits in the matter of feeding. In the higher parts of their range in the 

 Himalayas they may occasionally be seen at midday with the village fowls. But this 

 is very unusual, and the early morning and the evening are the only times when, 

 throughout their range in general, they are seen feeding. During the heat of the day 

 they retire to the deepest, coolest shade in the vicinity, and during this time can only 

 be discovered or dislodged by a dog, or by the accident of stumbling upon them. At 

 such a time they are very disinclined to take to wing, and unless actually forced to fly 

 they invariably make their escape by swift running and dodging around and through 

 the undergrowth. 



