1877 .] 
AMERICAN A G-RIO CRT IT KI ST. 
333 
The East Indian Jungle Fowl and Hybrid. 
The East Indian Jungle Fowl is closely related to 
our domestic fowl, and of some particular breeds 
it is a direct progenitor. If any doubt of this has 
ever existed, it is dispel¬ 
led by the fact that this 
wild species will breed 
with the common do¬ 
mestic hen, and produce 
fertile hybrids. In the 
accompanying engraving 
we give portraits of a 
pure Jungle cock—the 
smaller' bird—and a hy¬ 
brid cock produced by 
the union of the former 
with a common hen. The 
birds, of which these en¬ 
gravings are portraits, 
are now, or were lately, in 
the Zoological Gardens 
in' Regent’s Park, Lon¬ 
don . The Jungle fowl is 
of the species known as 
the “forked tail fowl of 
Java” ; the Gallmfurca- 
tus of the naturalist, 
Temmirfck, and Gafins 
varius, of Shaw, the lat¬ 
ter name being consider¬ 
ed by good authorities as 
the more correct one. 
This species differs from 
all others of the genus 
Gallus , in having but a 
single wattle, placed be¬ 
tween the mandibles, instead of one being placed 
upon each side, as is usual with other fowls, and 
also in having the tips of the neck hackles square 
instead of lance-shaped. The color of the plumage 
is also unique, exhibiting very bright metallic hues 
in the sunlight. The head, neck, and upper part of 
the back, are of bright metallic green, each feather 
being margined with black ; the rump and upper 
tail coverts are black in the center, with the 
margins of both webs yellow; the tail sickle- 
feathers are much curved, as narrow as in a good 
game cock, and in color are a metallic green, with 
black along the shaft. The central tail feathers are 
black on the inner webs, 
and bright green on the 
outer. The smaller wing 
coverts are red with 
black centers, in some 
specimens the edges are 
yellow. The ten primary 
quills are dark-brown, 
the secondaries are 
black, lightly edged with 
Ted, which is shown 
when the wings are 
closed. The whole of 
the under parts are 
black; the comb and 
wattle are very singularly 
colored, being green next 
to the head and throat, 
and red and yellow be¬ 
low ; the comb is smooth, 
and without serratures; 
the bill is horn-color, 
and the legs flesh-color. 
As may be seen by the 
' portraits, the hybrid par¬ 
takes very much of the 
character of the male 
parent, but it is larger, 
having a fuller tail, long¬ 
er saddle feathers, and 
lance-tipped hackle. The 
hybrid is less wild in 
appearance than the parent, and has more of the 
sedate composure of our domesticated species. 
Several young birds were hatched from eggs 
fertilized by tbe hybrid here figured, and another 
one, last year; and the noted English poultry fan- > 
cier, Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, hopes that a beautiful 
addition to our poultry yards may in time be pro¬ 
duced from the hybrid race. The original portraits 
from which these were photographed, were pub¬ 
lished in the “London Field” about a year ago. 
The birds themselves are in the Regent’s Park 
with domestic fowd. 
Zoological Gardens, and there are none for sale 
anywhere, either in Europe or in this country. 
The Oregon Blue Jay—Steller’s Jay. 
BY DR. F. S. MATTESON, COQUH.LE CITY, OREGON. 
The Jay of this coast, and the only representative 
of the sub-order in this valley, is Cyannra Stelleri, 
or Steller’s Jay. It inhabits the western water¬ 
shed, from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to 
the Pacific, and from Russian America to Lower 
California. The plumage of the bird is thus de¬ 
scribed by Coues: “Sooty-brown, darker on the 
the head, passing insensibly into rich blue on the 
rump, and below from the breast. Wings and tail 
deep Prussian blue, with black bars (wanting in 
very young birds); crest faced with some blue 
touches, and throat with some whitish streaks ; ho 
white on the eye-lids; tail moderately rounded; 
crest about two inches long when full grown.” 
The blue color of this bird is only on the parts 
of the feathers which are exposed to the light. In¬ 
side of these, they are of 
variable shades of sooty- 
brown. The secondaries 
and tertiaries are barred 
with black, as are also, 
but indistinctly, the up¬ 
per surface of the tail 
and the greater wing 
coverts. The under sur¬ 
face of the tail is sooty- 
brown, while the cor¬ 
responding surface of 
the wing is ashy-brown. 
The bill is 11 inch long, 
black, corneous, strong, 
tapering, acute, with 
both mandibles of equal 
length and meeting at a 
point. The nostrils are 
closely covered with 
bristly tufts. The eye is 
black, and its expression 
“wicked.” The crest is 
11 inch long, pointed, 
and directed backward, 
but can be erected or 
depressed at pleasure. 
The specimen from 
which the accompanying 
engraving was made, is 
12 inches long, expanded 
wings 16 inches, tail 5 
inches. The legs are covered to the heel with 
short, sooty-brown feathers, with a tinge of blue on 
the outer and front sides. The feet and tarsus are 
black, the latter scaly in front, and separated on 
each side from the rest of the tarsal envelope by a 
well defined groove. The female mainly differs 
from the male by being a shade lighter in color. 
This bird frequents both forest and field. It is 
a noisy, thieving pest; a marauding vagabond of 
the first water. It is a voracious glutton, and eats 
anything that he can overhaul. It opens a nut by 
holding it in its claw, placing it on the limb it is 
perched on, and raising to its full hight, brings 
down the sharp point of 
its beak in a steady 
succession of vigorous 
blows, until the shell is 
broken. It pulls up the 
farmer’s young wheat, 
corn, peas, etc., in early 
spring; steals the eggs 
of the hens in summer, 
and forages on the grain 
accessible to him at all 
times: It robs the nests 
and eats the young of 
birds weaker than it¬ 
self, and makes itself 
obnoxious generally. 
Merciless and cowardly 
among its feathered 
neighbors, feared by the 
weak, and hated by the 
fstrong, it is constantly 
employed either in forays 
upon the defenseless, or 
using its wings vigorous¬ 
ly to escape from some 
well deserved punish¬ 
ment. When frightened 
from its thieving raids, 
it flies rapidly to the 
cover of the- nearest 
thicket, calling out loud¬ 
ly and defiantly, “kwak, 
kwak, kwak, kwak,” but as soon as concealed from 
view, it remains silent. It does not sing (it has 
not this redeeming quality), but its notes are many 
and varied. It cries, “Jay, Jay, Jay,” with great 
distinctness. It also says, “steal it, steal it,” 
