THE GREY JUNGLE-FOWL. 2^3 



" They do not, however, crow the whole year through, but 

 only from October to May, when they are in full plumage. 



" When flushed by a dog in the jungle, they flutter up into 

 some tree above with a peculiar cackle, a ' Kuck-kuck-kuck,* 

 which, however, they only continue till they alight. 



" They come into the open in the mornings and evenings, 

 retiring to cover during the heat of the day, unless the weather 

 is cloudy, when they may be met with in the open throughout 

 the day, 



"Though found in evergreen forests, they seem to prefer 

 moderately thin and bamboo jungle, 



" Ordinarily, as already remarked, they are found scattered ; 

 but when a tract of bamboo comes into seed, or any other parti- 

 cular food is locally abundant, they collect there in vast numbers, 

 dispersing again as soon as the food is consumed. I remember 

 on one occasion when the undergrowth of the Sholas about 

 Pykarra (which consists almost entirely of Strobilantkes sp.) seed- 

 ed, the Jungle-Fowl congregated there in the greatest numbers, 

 I mean by hundreds, and were excessively numerous for more 

 than a fortnight, when they gradually dispersed, owing, I believe, 

 not so much to the seeds having all been eaten, as to what 

 remained of them having sprouted and so become uneatable. 



" In some ways they are not very shy ; by taking an early 

 stroll, even without a dog, along some quiet road by which 

 cattle and grain pass, several can always be obtained, but when 

 they have been at all disturbed and shot at, they become very 

 wary, and even with a dog, before which they ordinarily perch 

 at once, they are very difficult to secure. In such cases, they 

 run till they think they are out of shot, and then rise, and 

 instead of perching, take a long flight, often of many hundred 

 yards, and when they do alight, commence running again. 



"When out feeding they do not usually wander far from 

 cover, and on any indication of danger they dart back into 

 this. They do not, however, go far in, generally only for a very 

 short distance, before stopping to listen, when, if all seems quiet, 

 they reappear in a short time within a few yards of the spot 

 at which they entered. If, on the contrary, after listening 

 they think that there is still danger, they then retreat quietly 

 and silently into the far depths of the jungle; occasionally, 

 after they have got some distance flying" up and hiding them- 

 selves in some bushy tree. 



" When, however, as sometimes, though rarely, happens, they are 

 surprised some distance out in the open, they do not run, but 

 rise at once and fly for the nearest cover, either perching in 

 some leafy tree, or else dropping to the ground. 



" They are very punctual in their appearance at particular 

 feeding grounds, and when one or more are met with in any 

 particular spot, they are certain, if not disturbed in the interim, 

 to be found again in the same place at about the same hour 



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