242 THE CEYLON JUNGLE-FOWL. 



ing in the jungles of Ceylon. In some of the wilder jungle- 

 roads, a cock and hen may sometimes be seen feeding together ; 

 but generally the hens are very shy, and not many of them 

 are killed." 



Again, Mr. Layard tells us that : — " The Jungle-Fowl is 

 abundant in all the uncultivated portions of Ceylon, but 

 particularly so in the Northern and North-Western Provinces. 



" It comes out to feed morning and evening, upon the roads, 

 cultivated lands, or other open places. The cocks are generally 

 seen alone, seldom in company with their hens, who, however, 

 are always in the neighbourhood, and keep together, even 

 though their broods may be of very different ages. The cocks 

 fight most desperately, the combat frequently terminating in 

 the death of one of the engaged parties. As they not unfire- 

 quently mingle with the fowls of the lonely villages, they cross 

 with the domestic breed, being more than a match in courage 

 for the plebeian dunghill cocks, and armed with tremendous 

 and sharp spurs. 



" In wet weather Jungle-Fowl keep much to thick trees, sitting 

 disconsolately, with drooping head and tail, among the 

 branches ; they also roost in trees at night, retiring to rest 

 early. It is rarely that a bird can be flushed ; but when they 

 do fly, it is very much in the manner of the Pheasant ; they 

 run with incredible swiftness, and trust to their powers in this 

 respect for safety. Their cry is a short crow, which resembles 

 the words George Joyce, sharply repeated." 



The following ancedote, though often told, is too good to be 

 omitted. Layard says : — 



" I once saw a fight between a tame and a wild cock, which 

 terminated most ludicrously ; the owner of the tame bird ran 

 in and requested the loan of my gun to shoot the stranger. 

 I asked him if he could shoot, when he drew himself up with 

 * Sare, I one soldier before :' of course he had the gun directly, 

 and taking a murderous aim from the window, he fired, knocked 

 over his own bird and missed the Jungle-Fowl. His mortified 

 face I never shall forget ; and his soliloquy over the body 

 was almost as fine as Hamlet's." 



My friend Captain Legge, whose splendid monograph of the 

 Birds of Ceylon should be in every ornithologist's hands, writes 

 to me : — 



" The Ceylon Jungle- Fowl inhabits in abundance the greater 

 part of the island. In the low country it is located in the greatest 

 numbers in the northern, eastern, and south-eastern divisions, 

 which, covered with jungle and possessed of a dry climate, 

 are specially suitable to the habits of the bird. 



" Throughout all the northern forests, from the Jaffna 

 Peninsula along the base of the Matale ranges, and thence 

 eastward and westward to the coasts, it is universally spread, 

 and is particularly numerous in the scrubby maritime districts. 



