Birds of the Indian Hills 



species {Gallus ferrugineus) has appropriated the 

 part of India which lies between Kashmir and 

 the Godavery ; while the grey jungle-fowl 

 (G. sonneratt) has possessed itself of the territory 

 south of the Godavery. The third jungle-fowl 

 (G. lafayetti) has to be content with Ceylon, 

 but the size of its name very nearly makes up 

 for its deficiency in acres ! 



Davison is my authority for stating that the 

 Strobilanthes whitiani, which constitutes the 

 main undergrowth of many of the forests of 

 the Nilgiris, seeds only once in about seven 

 years, and that when this plant is seeding the 

 grey jungle-fowl assemble in vast numbers to 

 feed on the seed. They collect in the same 

 way for the sake of bamboo seeds. The crow 

 of the cock, which is heard chiefly in the morning 

 and the evening, is not like that of the red 

 jungle-fowl. It has been syllabised kuk-kah- 

 kah-kaha-kuk. The call of the hen may be 

 expressed by the syllables kukkun-kukkun. 



The red spur-fowl {Galloferdix spadicea) is 

 perhaps the most abundant game bird of the 

 Nilgiris. It is quite partridge-like in shape. 

 Both sexes have red legs and a patch of red 

 skin round the eye. The feathers of the cock 



are dull red with blue edges, while those of the 



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