PHOTOGRAVURE 35 
CEYLON JUNGLEFOWL 
In the more arid places Junglefowl often suffer from the attacks of ticks, which attach themselves to 
their comb in large numbers, and although they will sometimes preen one another’s plumage, they seem 
never to attempt to rid their companions of these pests. 
The eggs vary from white to a rich cream colour. Usually they are unspotted, but occasionally eggs 
will be found which are thickly covered with dots and spots of brownish red. 
In trampled places in the thorn-brush, feathers are sometimes found, showing where severe battles 
have taken place between rival cocks. But this photograph reveals a real tragedy. A cock Junglefowl 
had been feeding on the insects which it had scratched from a nest of termites, when a civet cat or 
similar enemy had pounced upon the bird, plucked out many of the larger wing feathers and carried 
it away. 
