
The nest itself is usually a shallow hollow very casually 
lined with grass, twigs or other forest debris. The normal clutch 
varies, in our experience, from 6 to 9 eggs, though clutches of up 
to 14 have been reported. 
Nesting dates vary, depending upon elevation, from March 
to June, according to several authors. Hume (8) found a nest on 
April 4 at 2,000 feet in the Sawiliks. In our experience this would 
seem to be early for we did not find a nest with eggs before mid-May 
in the same area, nor were the females usually with broods before 
June 5 to 15. This is a full 2 to 3 weeks later than the red junglefowl 
were observed with broods in the same area. 
Like the ruffed grouse the Kalij is so close a sitter that 
a bird may occasionally be caught on the nest by hand. The generally 
brown color of the female blends well with the forest floor. 
Renesting is the rule when the first clutch is destroyed 
before hatching. 
Eggs 
The eggs are rather short and pointed at one end, glossy, 
creamy white to deep buff in color and spotless except for small white 
pits in the shell. For the white-crested kalij Baker (3) gives the 
normal measurements as 49.5 X 36.0 mm., or slightly larger than is 
the average egg of a red junglefowl. Delacour indicates the period 
of incubation to be 24 to 25 days. 
Brooding and Rearing 
Mother and young leave the nest as soon as the chicks are 
dry. For the first few weeks at least thereafter they are likely to 
be found in the brush along stream courses or in overgrown fields, 
though seldom far from water. It is not unusual to see both parents 
with the young until well into the fall, the whole making a fairly 
compact group. 
The young fly early and by the 4th to 5th week they may be 
found roosting close together in tall brush or low trees. 
Gregariousness 
Adult kalij are probably less gregarious than are red 
junglefowl for one is likely to encounter single birds well scattered 
through a woodland, Nevertheless small parties of 5 to 10 birds 
are not uncommon about water holes or in edge cover. Many birds will 
be seen feeding or traveling in pairs though Beebe (4) observed groups 
of 4, 8, 4 and 16 birds feeding together on 4 consecutive days. 
36 
