396 BRITISH BIRDS. 



called the Red Jungle Fowl, which is a native of continental 

 India. When such a master-mind as Darwin's comes to this 

 conclusion, the evidence must be satisfactory. 



There are four known wild Galli— viz., the Jungle Fowl 

 of continental India {G. banlica), the Jungle Fowl of South 

 India (O. Sonneratii), the Jungle Fowl of Ceylon {G. Stanleyi), 

 and the Forked-tail Jungle Fowl of Java {G. fur'-atuis). 



The G. hankiva or G. ferrufjineus is found all over India 

 where thick jungle exists, and extends into the Madras Presi- 

 dency, where it meets Sonnerat's jungle fowl, and is said to 

 interbreed with it ; it also extends into Burma, Malayana, and 

 to Timor. This bird is subject to considerable variation in 

 different localities. Our black-breasted red game resemble it 

 in most points save in that the tail of G. hunldva is carried 

 horizontally whilst the game tail is carried erect. The chicks of 

 G. hankiva are hatched in twenty days, and eggs are laid from 

 January to July. There is not the least doubt but that the 

 Burmese and Arakan breeds are descended from (?. hankiva, 

 having acquired by selection yellow legs and greater size. 



The nearest ally to G. hankiva is G. StanJeyt, the Ceylon 

 Jungle Fowl, which chiefly differs in that it has a yellow comb 

 edged with red and a reddish breast. This species never lives 

 in captivity for any length of time, a feature we may well note 

 in connection with the origin of our domestic birds. 



The Sonnerat Jungle Fowl (6-'. Sonneratii) is found in the 

 south of India, and is distinguished by the flattened shafts 

 of the hackle -feathers of the cock, which resemble spots of 

 creamy sealing-wax. The crow is very peculiar, quite unlike 

 that of the domestic cock or red jungle fowl, and the eggs are 

 described as being of a pinky-cream colour. This species is not 

 nearly so easily domesticated as G. hankiva, with which, how- 

 ever, it interbreeds both wild and in confinement. 



1 The wild fowls of Fiji are descendants of the domestic poultry taken 

 there by the early voyagers. These fowls now resemble the Red Jungle 

 Fowl in appearance ; they have reverted, that is, to the ance.'itral type. 



