JUNGLE FOWL 
Jungle fowl are the ancestors of most varieties of domestic poultry, and 
some species are still capable of breeding with their domestic relatives. 
Today interesting experiments in this cross-breeding are being carried on 
with a view to increasing the fertility and size of chickens. 
The jungle fowls nest deep in the forest, but like to feed at the edge 
of cultivated areas. After a Burmese peasant has cut his grain, the fowl 
frequently come from the brush in parties of ten to twenty to pick over the 
leavings. During the heat of the day, they retire to the jungle where they 
roost in the trees; at morning and evening they come forth to feed. Hunted 
for their meat, which is said to be tastier than that of domestic chicken, 
they are extremely wary in eluding capture. 
In size, the jungle fowl resemble the barnyard varieties. Their color¬ 
ing, however, is a mixture of rich crimsons, copper greens and iridescent 
blues. The head is surmounted by a crest of skin, a loose red wattle 
hangs from the neck and the face is featherless. The males are adorned 
with a splendid crimson crest and armed with long, curved spurs. These 
birds are swift runners, flying only when pursued, and then for short dis¬ 
tances. They live on grain, seeds, and the shoots of plants as well as on 
insects, snakes, lizards and worms. Their call is a sharp, short crow like 
that which awakens farm-folk, and as they go about their daily pursuits 
they engage in the conversational cackling of barnyard fowl. Both male 
and female cackle wildly when frightened, but the female emits no smug 
note of self-satisfaction after laying an egg. 
Jungle fowl mate from November to March in the plains and from 
March to April in the highlands, where they have been known to nest up 
to a height of five thousand feet. They lay their eggs, numbering from five 
to seven, on a pile of fallen leaves or vegetable rubbish, within a clump 
of bamboo or other dense thicket. The pale buff eggs are somewhat smaller 
than the grocery store variety. The male bird, unlike the polygamous domes¬ 
tic rooster, is comparatively faithful to his mate. He helps guard the nest 
and also attends to feeding and caring for the young. 
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