RED JUNGLEFOWL . 207 



Strangest of all is the historical distribution of the cock in Egypt. The Egyptians, 

 who reached far and wide through their dependencies for strange creatures and objects, 

 whose artists crystallized in exquisite sculptured bas-relief and paintings even the 

 separate species of ducks and geese, doves and quail with which they were familiar, 

 could never have failed to depict the characteristic mien, or the comb, hackles or tail of 

 the cock, had they known that bird. Yet before the Roman period there is no image 

 on Egyptian monuments, nor word or sign for cock in their language. It is strange 

 that no hint of chickens or casual fowls should have been brought by the Persians or 

 the Grecian mercenaries of Psammetichus. However we may fail to explain the silence 

 of all the dynasties, no cock or hen is known to have reached Egypt at an earlier date 

 than 50 B.C. 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — As I have emphasized in the course of narration of this species, the 

 constant interchange of blood, the continued crossing of the wild Red Junglefowl with 

 native birds, has brought about an amount of variation in both habits and coloration 

 which is unique among pheasants. The following descriptions of the birds refer to 

 specimens which appear to be pure-blooded, from birds which were secured at a 

 considerable distance from human habitation. 



Top of the head, neck and upper mantle orange red or dark orange, the longer 

 hackles paling posteriorly into orange or orange-yellow. This latter colour is confined 

 to a very wide disintegrated border, the concealed central, solid portions of the vane 

 varying from slightly darker to a smoky brown. These hackles are slender and greatly 

 elongated, covering and concealing the real feathers of the mantle and upper back. Mid- 

 mantle dull brown, sometimes showing a purplish sheen. Lower mantle and lesser 

 coverts glossed with purplish blue or green. A line of feathers bordering the entire 

 ventral border of the hackles, scapulars, central line of the lower back and median 

 wing-coverts rich dark maroon red, shading into orange-red or orange on the long, soft, 

 hackle-like feathers of the sides of the back, rump and upper tail-coverts. Most of the 

 maroon feathers have a concealed zone of iridescent green. Greater primary coverts dull 

 brown ; secondary coverts black, strongly glossed with purplish green. Flight feathers 

 brownish black, the outer margin of the primaries pale brownish buff and the outer half 

 of the outer webs of the secondaries chestnut-buff anteriorly, deepening into tawny 

 toward the tips of the feathers. This colour gradually disappears from the inner 

 secondaries, and is replaced on the tertiaries by a gloss of green. Longer upper 

 tail-coverts solidly glossed with green ; the central tail-feathers lack this sheen along the 

 shaft and toward the tip, while it dies out on the lateral rectrices, leaving them dull dark 

 brown. There is no green gloss on the underside of any of the feathers. Ventral surface 

 of the neck, breast and all the under parts uniform brownish black, faintly glossed with 

 greenish. A fleshy, bare, deeply notched comb arises from the forehead and crown. 

 There are two rounded gular wattles, and a large lappet growing just beneath the 

 opening of each ear. 



The bill is dark brown, sometimes reddish toward the base in full-coloured males, 

 and paler at the tip of the lower mandible. The legs and feet are lead-coloured or slaty, 

 sometimes rather brown, purplish or tinged with greenish, while again they may be pale 



