262 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



of either of the parent species that individuals which found their way to Europe in 

 former years were considered to be distinct species. Thus we find such synonyms as 

 Gallus tem^ninckii Gray ; G. ceneus Cuvier ; and G. violaceus Kelsall. The most 

 striking character is the metallic gloss of the upper plumage, fringed with golden yellow. 

 Even in the pure white birds this iridescent fringe persists, and is wonderfully beautiful 

 in the sunlight. 



As regards the fertility of the hybrids, our ideas would be chaos if we had to depend 

 upon the statements of the Javanese. Throughout the west of the island one hears 

 everywhere not only that the bekisars are sterile, but that they will not survive a 

 single mating with a domestic hen. In the east such ideas are laughed at, and the 

 birds are said to cross readily. I have proved the truth of the latter theory to my own 

 satisfaction, and have bred many kekoks, as they are called. On the other hand, this 

 second generation in Madura is known to many natives as bekikkos, which name in 

 Java is applied in the west to the Red and in the East to the Javan Junglefowl. Such 

 is the confusion of names, coupled, as I have said, with widespread ignorance of the 

 occurrence, appearance or habits of the wild birds. This second generation of cocks, 

 between the bekisars and domestic hens, reverts to the red junglefowl type of plumage, 

 or at least loses much of the green and violet iridescence of the upper plumage, while 

 retaining the large size of the bekisars. I shall have more to say about this farther on. 



As we have seen, the Javan Junglefowl bears captivity remarkably well in its native 

 islands. Wild as the cocks naturally are, they are susceptible of taming to such an 

 extent that they may be taken out of their baskets and handled without showing any 

 signs of fear. The aberrant general character of this species makes it certain that this 

 is merely an incidental characteristic of the bird, and has nothing to do with the 

 tameness of domestic poultry. No one, I think, has seriously considered the Javan bird 

 as sharing in the direct ancestry of our breeds of fowls. 



These birds are not common in zoological gardens, but sailors occasionally bring 

 cock birds to Europe and America. Of eleven Javan Junglefowl which have been kept 

 in the London Zoo, one lived for five years and two months, while the average length 

 of life was about two years. 



The difficulty with which hybrids are produced in Java diminishes under other 

 conditions. In the New York Zoological Park adult Javan Junglefowl cocks have 

 mated readily with bantam hens, and as many as five out of a clutch of six eggs have 

 proved fertile and the chicks reared to maturity. 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — Comb, face, wattle and fore-neck bare of feathers. Ear-coverts 

 dull brown ; top of head, back and sides of neck and upper part of the mantle, corre- 

 sponding to the elongated hackles of other junglefowl, composed of short and square- 

 tipped feathers, with the visible portion raised into a convex transverse band, the vane 

 itself being thus moulded into a rounded terminal ridge. This is exactly similar to the 

 corresponding structure in the feathers of Lophttra and Lobiophasis. The base of the 

 feathers is dull brownish black, part of this zone showing when the feathers lie naturally. 

 Just before the distal curved section, the black shows a very faint violet gloss, then 



