JAVAN JUNGLEFOWL 259 



It is not an uncommon occurrence for tropical birds of many species to thus gain 

 protection, although in this case the association may have been accidental. They them- 

 selves seem to be immune, unless some accident should occur such as the breaking of 

 an egg, when the terrible ants, attracted by the contents, would probably force the bird 

 to leave her nest. And woe to any young birds which happened to be touched by the 

 broken yolk. 



This species seems to deposit an unusually large number of eggs, six or twelve, 

 with the node of average about eight. This is the consensus of statement of many 

 foreign plantation owners whose facts in other departments of knowledge I have found 

 to be quite reliable. 



I know of no greater number of young seen with their parents than four, and 

 several times I have observed what were apparently a brood of the year numbering only 

 two. The voice of the chick does not differ from the plaintive peep of a domestic bird. 

 The young remain with the old birds for at least six or seven months, feeding and 

 roosting in close association with them. The number of times when I saw both parents 

 with their broods leads one to suspect that monogamy is a more common habit than 

 polygamy. Termites form the staple food of the very young birds — at least, this was 

 true in the case of three nestlings which were sent to me in spirits for study. 



From what I saw of the Javan Junglefowl in the small island of Madura, it differs 

 in no particulars from the same species on the larger island. It is found only in the 

 eastern part, and I found it to be especially abundant where there was much outcropping 

 limestone, and less so where this gave place to earth and jungle. I saw a family of 

 birds with an interesting history. A pair had been kept for several years in semi- 

 captivity by the proprietor of a big, rambling hotel at Manding. They disappeared for 

 a few weeks, and then returned to feed as usual on the scraps from the kitchen, 

 accompanied by three young birds — another proof of monogamy. 



The eggs are very rare in collections, and the published descriptions and measure- 

 ments show such discrepancy that it is probable that the eggs of Gallus gallus or of 

 hybrids have sometimes been confused with those of varius. Four eggs in my 

 possession, taken near Patjiran, are buffy-white with a faint tinge of yellowish, of a 

 rounded oval shape, the shell being glossy, with very inconspicuous punctures. They 

 measure 43 x 34, 44 x 34, 45 x 35, and 46 x 35 mm., averaging 34-5 x 44-5. 



RELATION TO MAN 



The relation of the Javan Junglefowl to mankind is of a most peculiar character. 

 The birds are of no direct economic importance. The contents of their crops show that 

 on the whole they are more useful than injurious, feeding chiefly on noxious insects and 

 the seeds of weeds, and taking but small toll from the grain-fields. The Javanese are a 

 dull, lethargic race, and possess none of the interest in their surroundings which is 

 exhibited by many other races of Eastern people. So that both in the coastal lowlands 

 and in the mountains but little heed is paid to the wild fowl, the plantation owners alone 

 shooting the birds now and then. There are no laws protecting them, but the fear of 

 native uprisings has put such a high licence price both on bringing a gun into the 

 country and carrying it when landed, that the Junglefowl have little to fear from powder 



