234 THE GREY JUNGLE-FOWL. 



the next or any subsequent day on which they may be looked 

 for. There was one particularly fine and remarkably shy and 

 cunning old cock that frequented an open glade in the forest 

 (above the Government Cinchona Plantations at Neddivuttum) 

 in the morning, whereas in the evening he always came into the 

 plantation and wandered about under the cinchona trees, and 

 along the plantation roads. He never, to my knowledge — and 

 I must have seen him fifty times at least — came into the planta- 

 tion in the morning, or into the glade in the evening. There 

 was no doubt as to this being the same bird that frequented the 

 two places (nearly a quarter of a mile distant), for he was the 

 largest, handsomest, and to judge from his spurs, the oldest 

 cock I ever saw. ' I loved that cock as a brother I did,' and at 

 last I circumvented and shot him. 



" The best time to shoot the Jungle-Cock is from October to 

 the end of May, as then his hackles are in the best condition. 



" In June the moult begins, and the male gradually drops 

 his hackles and long tail feathers, the hackles being replaced by 

 short feathers, as in the female ; during the rains the male is a poor 

 mean looking object, not in the least like his handsome self in the 

 cold weather, and, fully conscious of this fact, he religiously 

 holds his tongue during this period. 



" In September, a second moult takes place, the short feathers 

 of the neck are again replaced by the hackles, the long tail 

 feathers re-appear, and by October the moult is complete and 

 our- Southern Chanticleer as noisy as ever. 



" The male usually carries its tail low, and when running, it 

 does so with the tail lowered still more, the neck outstretched, 

 and the whole body in a crouching position as in the Pheasants. 



" I do not know for certain whether the species is polygamous 

 or monogamous, but from what I have observed I should think 

 the latter ; for although the male does not, I believe, assist in in- 

 cubation, yet when the chicks are hatched, he is often to be 

 found in company with his mate and little ones. 



" These birds are, I believe, quite untamable, even when 

 reared from the egg, and though in the latter case they may 

 not be so wild as those captured in maturity, they never take 

 kindly to domestic life, and avail themselves of the first oppor- 

 tunity for escaping. It is needless to say that they cannot 

 easily be induced to breed in captivity. I have known the ex- 

 periment tried time after time unsuccessfully. 



" Numbers are trapped by the professional fowlers of 

 Southern India, and brought for sale, together with Pavo cris- 

 tatns, and Perdicula asiatica, to the stations on the Nilgiris, 

 where cocks in good plumage may be purchased for about 8 annas 

 each. Numbers are also brought to Madras from the Red Hills, 

 where they are even cheaper. When caught, the eyes are closed 

 by a thread passed through the upper and under eyelids and then 

 knotted together ; a short string is then tied to one leg. and the 



