RED JUNGLEFOWL 189 
and in their case combats are probably confined to encounters with trespassing strange 
males. 
A fact of passing interest, which I shall touch upon in more detail elsewhere, is the 
isolation and accentuation by breeders of the mental character of combativeness. The 
mentality of the domestic game-cock is as much a product of artificial selection as is the 
physical character of a crest in the Polish fowl and the physiological function of increased 
fertility. 
In spite of many exceptions, I believe that the normal, or at least the much more 
common state of mated life among Red Junglefowl is that of monogamy. Birds living 
in open jungle, isolated from the fowls of natives, are almost invariably seen in pairs, 
except when families are flocked together, and several sportsmen who have hunted this 
bird emphasize this fact. In more than one instance where I have found a single cock 
associated with several hens, it has been in the immediate vicinity of villages, and I 
credit this apparent polygamy to the influence of native fowl blood. Among domestic 
birds polygamy is, of course, the rule. Just as the power of flight and speed has 
degenerated in our barnyard fowls, so the normal pairing relation has been upset, and 
mating is indiscriminate and all but lacking in courtship. 
The site chosen for the nest is again, to a certain extent, an index of the absolutely 
feral nature of each respective pair of Junglefowls, or reveals the demoralizing effect of 
crossing with native birds. Twice in widely separated countries I have discovered, 
with the aid of expert native hunters, far from human habitation, the nests of wild hens. 
They were hidden deep in thickets, and protected by a very dense growth of bamboo in 
one case, and brake in the other. There would have been no possibility of discovery 
except by the accidental flushing of the hen. In four instances of nests near villages, on 
the other hand, none were thoroughly concealed, and in two cases it was impossible to 
decide whether or not the nests were those of extremely wild native hens or rather tame 
feral jungle birds. 
The nest is, of course, on the ground, usually well toward the centre or denser 
portion of a thicket, usually of bamboo. It is variable as to character; sometimes 
merely a hollow scratched out of the earth, without any lining; again the leaves which 
were already on the ground remain, and are matted down by the eggs and pressure of 
the bird’s body. More rarely a considerable heap of grass and leaves is collected, 
forming a real nest, unlike the case of most of the pheasants. Another variation which 
has been described is where the bird, beside making a nesting hollow, also scrapes up 
the earth outside and around this nest, thus forming an appreciable rim, which protects 
the contents, keeping the lining firm and the eggs secure. 
Hume speaks of finding a Junglefowl’s nest almost every day during a month’s 
shooting in May along the southern slopes of the Siwaliks, with the aid of dogs and 
men. Once six were found near the Bhing-ka-khol within a radius of two hundred 
yards. ; 
The time of year of laying and the altitudinal range within which breeding takes 
place have already been discussed. The number of eggs is not very constant, but five 
to eight is the usual number. Eleven have been known to be deposited by a single hen 
at one laying, but the record of a nestful of fourteen probably represents the joint efforts 
of two birds. 
