182 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 
roads in the Malay States, one comes suddenly upon a group of fowls, instead of 
blundering ahead or with frightened squawks and frantic, awkward beating of wings 
flopping toward their native coops, they often rise swiftly, and with the greatest ease 
fly out over the steep slope, all together like a flock of doves, then circle around and 
come back to the road some distance behind. This reveals clearly the recent admixture 
of wild blood, and is correlated with a much lower fertility than exists among more 
carefully-bred domestic strains. 
DAILY ROUND OF LIFE 
The food of Junglefowl, in keeping with their other rather generalized habits, is 
of an omnivorous character. They are, however, graminivorous on the whole, and 
in the crops of birds which I have shot at a considerable distance from cultivation 
I have always found vegetable matter predominating. Small nuts and seeds of 
unknown plants are often taken in considerable quantities, besides which the young 
shoots of bamboo and other grasses, leaves, petals and wild seeds of all kinds are eaten. 
As with all other pheasants, the larvae and eggs of white ants or termites are enjoyed, 
and the birds will go to considerable trouble to scratch and peck away the hard earthen 
tunnels and mounds of these insects to expose the nurseries with their abundant 
tenants. A certain discrimination seems to be exerted in the choice of pebbles, which 
are swallowed, and the gizzard is often partly filled with bright and shining bits of 
stone. Seventeen sapphires have been taken from a single hen Junglefowl. 
The greater number of birds which make their home in the immediate vicinity 
of native villages and cultivated fields lose no opportunity to make the most of such 
advantages. Associating so freely with the domestic fowls, they are thus protected to 
a great extent from direct attack with guns and traps, the natives not wishing to sacrifice 
their own useful fowls. After the harvest has been gathered, Junglefowl in early 
morning or late evening may be seen gleaning in the grain-fields, in loose flocks of 
ten to twenty birds. The damage they do, however, is not great, and their wariness 
makes it an easy matter to drive them from the fields. 
Besides fattening on the millet and rice when these grains become ripe, Junglefowl 
share throughout the year the habits of domestic birds in haunting cow-sheds, and the 
sign of animals which travel over the jungle roads and trails. The easiest way to catch 
at least a glimpse of these birds in any locality which they are known to inhabit is to 
walk quietly along the roads near the forests in the cool of early morning. Even where 
wild cocks and hens form close associations with domestic birds they usually keep to 
their feral habits in the matter of feeding. In the higher parts of their range in the 
Himalayas they may occasionally be seen at midday with the village fowls. But this 
is very unusual, and the early morning and the evening are the only times when, 
throughout their range in general, they are seen feeding. During the heat of the day 
they retire to the deepest, coolest shade in the vicinity, and during this time can only 
be discovered or dislodged by a dog, or by the accident of stumbling upon them. At 
such a time they are very disinclined to take to wing, and unless actually forced to fly 
they invariably make their escape by swift running and dodging around and through 
the undergrowth, 
