Green Junglefowl
Gallus varius
Fancy-looking “chicken” endemic to Java and the Lesser Sundas, from Bali east to Alor. Also introduced to the Cocos Islands. Dark, iridescent male is distinctive, with dark-centered orange and yellow feathers on the back and wings. Also note his bright blue-and pink comb and large red wattle. Female is dull brown with dark spotting, and also has a blackish tail and pale pinkish face; compare with female Red Junglefowl, which is warmer-colored overall, with more orangeish tones. Inhabits open forests, forest edges, and scrub from lowlands into foothills. Scratches about on the ground singly, or in small groups. Gives an incredibly hoarse crow: “krewwarewwah!”
Identification
The colouration of the green junglefowl is sexually dimorphic. The male's plumage is dark and blackish at a distance. A closer view reveals an iridescent mantle of gleaming scales reminiscent in colour and pattern to those seen in the ocellated turkey and green peafowl. Each scale is vivid blue at its base and moves through various shades of gold and bronzed green. Specialized plumes framing the throat of the male green junglefowl are highly light-reflective and appear violet at the proximal and sky blue at the distal edges. The lesser coverts of the wing are a striking burnt orange with bronzed black centers. The distal edges of the greater secondary coverts are vivid ocher. <p>Like the related red junglefowl, the breast and ventral regions are a dense, light-absorbing black. Like its closer relative the Sri Lankan junglefowl, the male green junglefowl exhibits vivid 'windows' of bare facial skin that contrast against the dark scarlet red of the face. The green junglefowl exhibits an ice blue center in its comb. A region of electric yellow facial skin extends below each ear, delineating the plumed hackles from gular lappet. Its head is topped by a light blue comb, which turns purple or red towards the top. Its wattle is also of the same colour but is bordered with blue on the edges and yellow closer to the throat. The female is mostly brown with occasional green feathers and has no comb.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Gallus varius
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1798)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Gallus
Range and habitat
The green junglefowl is endemic to Java, Bali, Lombok, Komodo, Flores, Rinca and small islands linking Java with Flores, Indonesia. It has been introduced to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands where there is a small wild population. It is found from a natural altitude of 0–2000 m in subtropical/tropical lowland moist forest, shrubland and arable land, and has been seen flying from island to island in its native range, where it lives and breeds along coastal areas.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The green junglefowl usually lives in groups of two to five in the wild led by a dominant male, who takes the flock to feed and drink and then back into the cover of the forest. In the night the flock roosts in bamboo stands at 15–20 feet above the forest floor. In the breeding season the dominant males in each flock are challenged by other males without flocks. The two males clap their wings and crow loudly while fighting each other with their spurs.
Conservation
The green junglefowl is evaluated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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