Red Jungle Fowl

Red Jungle Fowl 

(Gallus gallus), a bird from the genus of wild, or crested, fowl. As C. Darwin established, it is the ancestor of domestic chickens. The red jungle fowl is found in the south and east of Hindustan (Deccan), southeast China (Yünnan, Kuanghsi, and the island of Hainan), Indochina, and on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. In the Philippine Islands, New Guinea, Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Fiji, the New Hebrides, and other areas, the fowl was probably first introduced by man and later reverted to the wild state. The red jungle fowl is a small bird; the males weigh 900–1,250 g and the females, 500–750 g. The male’s plumage is reddish-gold on the back and blackish-brown on the ventral side; the female’s plumage is brownish. The bird lives in the wood and shrub jungles of mountains and plains. It sleeps and rests in trees and nests on the ground. The fowl feeds on grain, seeds, fruits, and small invertebrates. The wild red jungle fowl is easily tamed. It was domesticated in India about 3000 B. C. It was apparently from there that the domestic chicken penetrated into Europe through Iran. Three related species of wild fowl inhabit the west and south of India, Ceylon, Java, and some small islands near Java.

REFERENCE

Delacour, J. Pheasants of the World. London, 1951.