200 TEXT-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



domestic bird in India and China. Naturalists regard the Jungle-Fowl 

 (Gallus bahkiva), which inhabits the primeval forests of Eastern India 

 and the Sunda Islands, as the ancestral parent of this useful bird. 



The various breeds of fowls produced by man owe their origin to the 

 different purposes or objects for which they were destined — e.g., size and 

 number of eggs (layers), delicate and tender flesh (fowls for the table), 

 or shape and plumage (ornamental or fancy birds). In our poultry- 

 yards, in addition to the common barndoor fowl, we also frequently 

 meet with the Italian and Spanish breeds. 



However the different breeds may vary in shape and colour of 

 plumage (give description), they are all distinguished by the possession 

 of a red, jagged, fleshy comb on the top of the head, two cutaneous flaps 

 (wattles) on the lower beak, and naked cheeks. The males always sur- 

 pass the females in brilliancy of plumage, in the size of the comb and 

 wattles, and are distinguished by the possession of curved, sickle- shaped 

 tail-coverts, which overhang the roof-shaped tail. As the plumage is not 

 oiled (uropygial gland very small), the fowl is very sensitive to rain, from 

 which it seeks shelter beneath a roof or other protection. It cleans itself 

 with sand or dust, not water. 



B. The Fowl a Ground Bird. 



As the air is the realm of the swallow (which see), the ground is the 

 domain of the fowl; and whereas the former hardly ever touches the 

 ground, the latter passes its whole life there, and leaves it but rarely, 

 and then unwillingly. 



I. The flight of the fowl is heavy, awkward, and fatiguing. This is 

 due to the following facts : 



1. The wings are short, rounded off, and saucer-shaped (compare the 

 swallow). 



2. The muscles of the breast which move the wings are comparatively 

 weak. The sternum is accordingly feeble and its crest low. 



3. The body is relatively heavy, all the bones being strong, and only 

 few filled with air, and then only to a slight extent. 



II. Being a denizen of the ground, the legs of the fowl are strong 

 and robust, and adapt it for running rapidly and with endurance. The 

 muscles of the thigh (" the leg " of the bird as presented on the table) 

 are very strong ; the tarso-metatarsus is of moderate length and robust, 

 like the toes, the posterior one of which is articulated at a higher level 

 than the anterior ones. The claws are strong, blunt, and somewhat 

 curved (compare claws of raptatorial birds), and obtain a powerful 

 purchase against inequalities of the surface of the ground (compare with 

 hoofs of the horse and ox). The poor flight-capacity of the birds is- 



