228 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



nothing to do with any other. After the death of this cock the jungle hen became 

 excited and wild, so she was given her liberty, and flew away to be heard of no more. 

 The history of this hen is surely unique. She had lived either in the experimental run 

 or in the garden just outside it for eighteen months." 



The Ceylon Junglefowl has bred at least once in the London Zoological Gardens, 

 in the year 1874, but it is unusual for the hens even to lay in captivity, and this record 

 is almost unique. Of eleven individuals which have been confined in those Gardens, 

 one lived for three years, the average length of life of all being a year and a half. 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — Ear-coverts greyish-white ; feathers on the top of the head and 

 occiput deep rufous orange ; hackles on the back and sides of the neck, upper mantle 

 and lesser wing-coverts straw yellow or golden orange, with a conspicuous black shaft- 

 stripe. Posterior part of the mantle, scapulars, median wing-coverts and lateral feathers 

 of the lower back and rump orange-red, this colour being confined to the wide, visible, 

 disintegrated fringe, the remaining part of the feather being maroon or chestnut. On 

 the central feathers of the lower back and rump the deep orange-red is confined to a 

 narrow fringe, the rest of the visible part being richly iridescent violet, shading into 

 bluish posteriorly. On the upper tail-coverts this in turn changes into a bluish-green 

 gloss, which characterizes the central rectrices, and the outer web of the succeeding two 

 or three pairs, the remainder of the tail being dull black. The primaries are dull 

 brown ; the secondaries and their greater coverts black, with considerable purplish-blue 

 gloss. The inner coverts are sometimes margined on the outer web with dark 

 chestnut. 



A conspicuous patch of feathers at the edge of the bare throat rich, iridescent violet 

 or purplish-blue ; chest, breast and sides orange-red like the lower mantle and upper 

 back, the central maroon streak less prominent ; belly chestnut, mottled and tipped with 

 black ; flanks, thighs and under tail-coverts chiefly black, the latter glossed with 

 greenish. 



Bill horny brown, anterior half of lower mandible yellow ; iris straw yellow ; comb 

 bright purplish red, with a large wing-shaped, central, yellow spot. This spot is very 

 bright and arises abruptly just over the eye, but shades off at its margin into the colour 

 of the comb. When the comb measures about 80 x 30 mm., the yellow spot will cover 

 an approximate area of 50 x 25 mm. In some birds the yellow is so abundant that the 

 general aspect is of a yellow comb with a red border. 



Facial skin, throat and wattles usually clear bright red. Occasionally the wattles 

 will show a central yellowish spot, and in these individuals the throat too is yellowish. 

 Legs and feet pink in full-coloured birds, or in others mottled with white or yellowish, 

 or wholly waxy yellow ; claws dark brown ; spurs black or yellowish at base ; weight 

 2I to 21 lbs. 



Culmen from nostril, 16 mm. ; length, 660 to 725; wing, 230; tail, 340; tarsus, 80; 

 middle toe and claw, 60 ; spurs long and curved, 37 mm. 



