Grey Junglefowl

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?Grey Junglefowl
LC^[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Gallus
Species:	G. sonneratii

Binomial name

Gallus sonneratii
(Temminck, 1813)

The Grey Junglefowl or Sonnerat's Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii is a wild relative of domestic fowl found in South Asia. They are closely related to the Red Junglefowl but their ranges are largely non-overlapping. Cocks are immediately recognizable by their greyish plumage with fine patterns; the elongated neck feathers are dark and end in a small, hard, yellowish plate (wisible as spots in the drawing); due to this peculiar structure they are popular for making high-grade fly lures.^[2]

Their loud calls of Ku-kayak-kyuk-kyuk can be heard in the early mornings and at dusk. They are found in deciduous forest and at the edges of moist deciduous forests. They forage for insects and worms by scratching on leaf-litter. They are threatened by hunting for food.

The species name is after the French explorer Pierre Sonnerat and they are sometimes also called Sonnerat's Junglefowl.

Grey Junglefowl call (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Call of male Grey Junglefowl from Wayanad, April 2006
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Grey Junglefowl call (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Call of Grey Junglefowl
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Grey Junglefowl call (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Call of Grey Junglefowl
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The Grey Junglefowl is found in most of Peninsular India, while the Red Junglefowl is found more along the foothills of the Himalayas. A region of overlap occurs in the Aravalli range. The species has been isolated by a variety of mechanisms including behavioural differences and genic incompatibility.^[3] Phylogenetic studies of Junglefowl show that this species is closely related to the Ceylon Junglefowl Gallus lafayetti and more distantly to the Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus.^[4]

[edit] References

^ BirdLife International (2004). Gallus sonneratii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
^ US Fish and Wildlife Identification Notes [1] Accessed October 2006
^ Morejohn, G. Victor(1968) Breakdown of Isolation Mechanisms in Two Species of Captive Junglefowl (Gallus gallus and Gallus sonneratii) Evolution 22(3):576-582
^ Akishinonomiya Fumihito, Tetsuo Miyake, Masaru Takada, Ryosuke Shingut, Toshinori Endo, Takashi Gojobori, Norio Kondo, And Susumu Ohno (1996) Monophyletic origin and unique dispersal patterns of domestic fowls. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93:6792-6795 [2]