Layard however writes thus on the subject: “The cocks fight mo.st cie^T - 
rately In defence of their seraglios, the combat frequently terminating In 
the death of one of the engaged parties. As they not unfrequently mingle 
with the fowls of the lonely villages, they Gross with the domestic breed, 
being more than a match for the plebeian dung hill cock, and armed with, 
tremendous sharp spurs. Mr Mlt ford, of the Ceylon Civil Service,* 1 he con¬ 
tinues, "s ewed.me while at Ratnapura, a hybrid hen; her general appearance 
and call much resemble the wild bird; her eggs also partook of the spotted 
character; but Mr Mltford never succeeded In rearing any chicks from them, 
as they were always addled. The bird was very tame to those ith whom she 
was acquainted, but fled precipitately at the approach of strangers”. 
As a rule Jungle Fowl do not thrive well in confinement, but several ex¬ 
ceptions to this have come under my notice, the birds In question having 
been reared from the nest. Captain Bayley successfully kept a cock for 
years In his beautiful grotto like aviary at’Galle; and Mr Thwaites of 
Hackgalla had some beautiful examples which I saw on the occasion of my 
■l-'c r . visit to his bungalow* which he Informed ie he had had for some years 
in confinement without their having In any way suffered from their captivi¬ 
ty. Mr Holdsworth likewise conveyed some to England, which the late Revd. 
Dr Boake had reared In an aviary In Colombo. 
The sound of the flapping of the wings, which is of course the Invita¬ 
tion to battle, has the effect of"always drawing two birds together; and 
the knowledge of this fact has given rise to the device of Imitating the 
noise, by doing which the sportsman can bring the cock up to him^ and if 
he be properly concealed can easily shoot him. The natives make this 
sound by clapping against their thighs ’ith the palm of the hand hollowed, 
but Europeans 'can best do it by making a pad with the handkerchief, and 
beating It against the pain of the other hand. By this means the exact 
sound can be made, and I once procured a very fine specimen in the Os ten- 
burg woods, by adopting this plan. 
It is worthy of note that this species does not utter its call before 
daybreak, like the domestic varieties, and this fact renders it difficult 
to surmise how the habit first arose in the latter. 
The male birds have an alarm note, sounding like "clock, clock”, which 
they make, if they hear any strange noise, when perched on a branch and 
about to roost. I kept a wild bird In confinement for a short time, and 
being very timid it invariably made this note when I approached, at the 
same time running round the aviary and trying to escape. The "George 
