GAME BIRDS 
(Megapodes, Grouse, Pheasants, Peafowl, Jungle Fowl and Turkeys) 
Since the beginning of Chinese civilization man has found pleasure in dis¬ 
playing or destroying game birds. Pheasants and peafowl have adorned his 
lawns, and stuffed grouse, ptarmigan, turkey, quail and partridge have 
decorated the walls of his hunting lodges. Today a table serving game fowl 
is more esteemed than one merely offering domestic fowl. 
Domestic fowl are believed to be descendants of the wild jungle fowl 
of the Malay Peninsula. Careful selection and many years of cross-breeding 
have produced more than one hundred varieties of domestic fowl. Breeders 
strive to obtain birds that lay a large number of eggs and are at the same 
time highly edible. White leghorns, Rhode Island reds, Sussex and Orping¬ 
tons are but a few varieties that have resulted from selective cross-breeding. 
Although game birds seldom resort to long flights and rely chiefly 
on their strong legs to scurry from their enemies, they can, once launched 
in the air, fly at considerable speed. In a recent test a turkey, urged on by a 
honking automobile, attained a speed of fifty-five miles per hour, a rate 
unusual for so large and heavy a bird. The European partridge can also 
fly more than fifty miles an hour. The take-off is somewhat noisy and awk¬ 
ward as the wings of these birds are short and concave. The stiffened and 
curved primary wing feathers beat the air rapidly and produce a whirring 
sound. 
Megapodes: 
Megapode. 
Grouse: 
Ruffed Grouse. 
Pheasant: 
Golden Pheasant. 
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. 
Ring-necked Pheasant. 
Peafowl: 
Indian Peafowl. 
White Peacock. 
Fowl: 
Jungle Fowl. 
Turkeys: 
Eastern Wild Turkey. 
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