30 LOTSY AND KUIPER, A PRELIM, STATEMENT OF THE RESULTS OF MR. 
which become dominant on the lower breast, with black margins and 
cross-band ; iris yellow ; legs and feet brownish yellow. 
The species is limited to Ceylon; the native name Wali-Kukalá, 
would suggest that the crow of the cock is similar to the one of our do- 
mestic cocks, which children imitate by Kukuluku! This however is not 
the case, the voice is very different, indicated commonly by chuck! 
George-Joyce!, but according to BEEBE this is only the case when softe- 
ned and modified by distance, at close quarters it sounds more like 
tsch, — , craw, cro1!, the dashes representing fifths equal in ti- 
me to the duration of each of the three notes. It occurs as well on the 
coast of Ceylon, especially in the dry maritime districts as up to an ele- 
vation of 5000 feet. They are extremely adverse to flying, and invaria+ 
bly try to escape on foot. The tail is usually held quite low, except du- 
ring challenge, courtship, and approach to battle, when it is raised as 


high as in any domestic cock. Termites take the first place in their diet, 
but they also eat wild seeds and grain and are especially fond of the ber- 
ries of the nilloos, aspecies of Strobilanthes, to which they flock from far 
and near when in fruit ; this fruiting causing a wide-spread migration. 
In some way these berries have a fattening and intoxicating influence 
so that the birds can then frequently be caught by hand. They someti- 
mes feed among herds of domestic cattle, also occasionally with domes- 
tic fowl. Frequently their combs are covered by ticks, on one side of 
one comb BEEBE counted 263 of all sizes and ages. 
They seem to lay eggs almost every month of the year; they are. 
both monogamous and polygamous with no apparent preponderance 
one Way or other, three hens to one cock being the greatest number 
observed. Nests are usually on the ground, but PARKER has re- 
corded several nests in the tops of trees and in deserted squirrel nests. 
One was a well-built nest in a sapling, at thirty feet elevation, doubtless 
the deserted home of a hawk, appropriated by the jungle hen. How 
the young chicks reached the ground in safety is impossible to concei ver 
probably they broke their little necks. 
The number of eggs varies from two to eight, four being the usual 
number. The eggs themselves vary greatly. They are smooth and glossy 
ovals, and may be either of a uniformly unspotted white, or buff, or rich 
café au lait color. Or these groundcolors may be present in eggs uni- 
formly spotted 1) with brownish red or burnt umber. Usually this marking 
1) italics are ours. 
