THE JAVANESE JUNGLE FOWL.
The JAVANESE JUNGLE FOWL (Gallus furcatus) is even more gorgeously plumed than those of its family already described. The long blunt feathers on the neck are of a deep metallic green, with a narrow border of velvety black; the long narrow feathers on the upper wing-covers are blackish green, with bright golden green edges; the long rump-feathers are blackish green in the centre, bordered with light yellow; and all the feathers of the tail-covers are of a deep and glossy black. The primary quills are blackish brown; the secondaries brown, with a narrow, reddish yellow edge to the outer web; while the real tail-feathers are of a rich glossy metallic green. The eye is light yellow; the bare face red at its sides, and marked with King's yellow beneath; the lower part of the comb is blue, and its apex violet; the beak is greyish black, with greyish yellow at its base; the foot is light-blueish grey.
The female is considerably smaller than her mate, has her face covered with feathers, and is entirely without either comb or lappets on the throat. Her head and throat are greyish brown, the feathers on the mantle golden green, with greyish brown edges, and delicate golden streaks on the shafts. The secondary quills and large wing-covers are glossy dark grey, marked with yellow; the primaries are greyish brown; the tail-feathers brown, shaded with green, and edged with black. The under side is greyish cream-colour, and the throat white. This beautiful species is a native of Java.
THE SONNERAT JUNGLE FOWL, OR KATAKOLI.
The SONNERAT JUNGLE FOWL, or KATAKOLI (Gallus Sonnerati), differs from all its congeners in the construction of its neck-feathers, which are long, slender, and rounded at their extremities, where the shaft spreads out in such a manner as to form a round horny disc; it then again contracts, and again expands into a second disc. The webs of these feathers are dark grey; the shafts and lower discs pure white, and those at the end bright reddish yellow; the long slender feathers on the mantle are brownish black with light spots, and those of the smaller wing-covers have a webless smooth shaft of a glossy reddish brown; the wing-feathers are grey, with light shafts and edges, those at the exterior bordered and shafted with red and yellow. Some of the quills are dull grey, with light edges and shafts, the rest black, with a greenish lustre; the sickle-shaped feathers of the upper tail-covers gleam with dark green, those on the under side are blackish grey, such as cover the thighs having a reddish or yellow tint at the centre and edges. The eye is light brownish yellow, the comb red, and the beak yellowish grey. This species is twenty-four inches long; the wing measures nine inches and a half, and the tail about fifteen inches. The hen is almost of a uniform dark brown on the mantle, the edges to the feathers being of so pale a tint as merely to give the effect of light shading; the throat and gullet are white, the rest of the under side light yellowish grey, bordered with black; the primary quills are dark brown; the secondaries striped black and brown; the tail-feathers blackish brown, spotted and marked with a still deeper tint.
The Sonnerat Jungle Fowl, or Grey Jungle Fowl, as it is also sometimes called, is found only in Southern India, spreading on the eastern coast to a little north of the Godavery, in Central India to the Pachmarii, and on the west to the Jajpeeple hills. It is found in great abundance on the Malabar coast, especially in the most elevated portions, and ascends to the summit of the Neilgherry Hills. It is also found in the Eastern Ghauts, and in various isolated ranges in different parts of Southern India.
"Like the Red Jungle Fowl," says Jerdon, "it affects bamboo jungles. Early in the morning, throughout the Malabar coast, the bird may be found feeding on the roads; and with dogs you are certain of getting several shots, the birds perching at once on being put up by dogs. The hen lays from February till May, generally producing from seven to ten eggs of a pinky cream-colour. These are usually deposited under a bamboo clump. The call of the Cock is very peculiar, being a broken and imperfect kind of crow, quite unlike that of the Red Jungle Fowl, and quite impossible to describe. When they are taken from the jungles they are also very much wilder, and not so easily domesticated as that species; but cases are known in which they have bred in confinement with hens of the common breed."
The section Phasianus of Brehm constitutes a numerous subdivision of the Phasianidæ, generally recognisable by the elongate body, short neck, and small head; the short, much-rounded wing has the fifth and sixth quills longer than the rest; the tail (composed of from sixteen to eighteen feathers, placed in lengths) is wedge-shaped, and either very long or of moderate size; the slender bill is weak, much arched and hooked at its extremity; the foot is of medium height, smooth and powerful—that of the male is furnished with a spur. The plumage, which covers the entire body except the cheeks and tarsi, is prolonged upon the head, and sometimes on the nape into a crest and flowing collar; the brilliancy of its coloration is, to a certain degree, inferior to that of the Phasianidæ, which we have before described, but it is, nevertheless, striking and beautiful. The female is smaller than her mate, owing to the unusual shortness of her tail; she also differs in the fact that her plumage is sombre and but little variegated.