The red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), also known as the Indian red junglefowl (and formerly the bankiva or bankiva-fowl), is a species of tropical, galliform bird in the phasianid family, found across much of Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. The red junglefowl was the primary species to give rise to today's many breeds of chicken (G. g. domesticus). Lesser contributions came from the grey junglefowl (G. sonneratii), Sri Lankan junglefowl (G. lafayettii) and the Javanese green junglefowl (G. varius). Whole genome sequencing has revealed that the chicken was first domesticated from red junglefowl ca. 8,000 years ago, with this domestication event involving multiple maternal origins. The domesticated variant is raised worldwide by humans in their tens of billions for their meat, eggs, colourful plumage and companionship. The wild form of G. gallus is sometimes used in zoos, parks or botanical gardens as a form of pest control, similarly to—and often kept with—the Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) or the helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris).
Taxonomy The red junglefowl was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Phasianus gallus. Linnaeus specified the type locality as "India orientali" but this has been restricted to the island of Pulo Condor (Côn Đảo) off the coast of Vietnam. The red junglefowl is now one of the four species placed in the genus Gallus that was introduced in 1760 by Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The word gallus is Latin for a farmyard cockerel.
Subspecies Five subspecies of G. gallus are recognised:
G. g. murghi (Indian red junglefowl) Robinson & Kloss, 1920 – north India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh G. g. spadiceus (Burmese red junglefowl) (Bonnaterre, 1792) – northeast India to south China, Malay Peninsula and north Sumatra G. g. jabouillei (Tonkin red junglefowl) Delacour & Kinnear, 1928 – south China to north Vietnam and north Laos G. g. gallus (Cochin-Chinese red junglefowl) (Linnaeus, 1758) – south Myanmar through Indochina (this is the nominate subspecies) G. g. bankiva (Javan red junglefowl) Temminck, 1813 – Java and Bali
Description
The species exhibits significant sexual dimorphism. Males are referred to as "roosters", while females are referred to as "hens". Compared with the domestic chicken, the red junglefowl has a much smaller body mass. The roosters are significantly larger than the hens — males weigh around 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), while females weigh around 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). The plumage of the male is much brighter in colouration than that of the female, which is a drab colour and more suitable for camouflage. The mantle (neck and back) of the rooster typically has long, golden hackle feathers. The tail consists of 14 iridescent feathers that shimmer with blue, purple, and green in direct light. Some of these tail feathers are long and curved, and can grow up to 28 centimetres (11 in) in length. The whole bird may be as long as 70 centimetres (28 in). Hens lack the long, ornate feathers that are a prominent feature of the roosters. The colouration of the males varies somewhat, depending on the subspecies. For example, some have golden yellow covert feathers from the neck to the lower back with greenish-black tail feathers, while others have red with black tails. A moult around June changes the plumage of breeding adults to an eclipse pattern, which lasts through October. The male eclipse pattern includes black feathers on the back and small red-orange plumes distributed across the mantle. The eclipse plumage of the hen is generally indistinguishable from the plumage at other seasons, but the moulting schedule is the same as that of the rooster. The male has a much larger comb and wattle (fleshy ornaments on the head that signal good health to rivals and potential mates) compared with the female. Roosters have a sharp, bony growth on the back of each leg, just behind and above the foot. These spurs are used as a defence mechanism against predators and to establish dominance in the flock.
Range The native geographic range of the red junglefowl extends from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh in the west, eastwards across southern China, to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and south/southeast into Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. The species has been introduced in Australia, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hawaii, Jamaica, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and Samoa.
Habitat Red junglefowl prefer disturbed habitats and edges, both natural and human-created. The forage and thick cover in these sorts of areas are attractive to junglefowl, especially nesting females. Junglefowl use both deforested and regenerating forests, and often are found near human settlements or areas of regrowth from slash-and-burn agriculture. Areas burned to promote bamboo growth also attract junglefowl, with edible bamboo seeds more available. In some areas, red junglefowl are absent from silvicultural and rubber plantations; elsewhere, they will occur in both tea plant and palm oil plantations. In the state of Selangor, Malaysia, palm foliage provides suitable cover; palm nut fruit provides adequate food, as well as insects (and their larvae) within, and adjacent to, the trees. The palms also offer an array of roost sites, from the low perches (~4 m) favoured by females with chicks to the higher perches (up to 12 m) used by other adults. Red junglefowl drink surface water when it is available, but they do not require it. Birds in north-central India visit water holes frequently during the dry season, although not all junglefowl on the subcontinent live close enough to water to do so; population densities may thus be lower, where surface water is limited.
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