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Sri Lankan junglefowl

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Main page The Sri Lankan junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii), also known as the Ceylon junglefowl, is a member of the Galliformes bird order which is
Contents Sri Lankan junglefowl
endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is the national bird. It is closely related to the red junglefowl (G. gallus), the wild junglefowl from which the
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chicken was domesticated. However, a whole-genome molecular study rather show that Sri Lankan junglefowl and grey junglefowl are
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genetically sister species than with the red junglefowl.[2] Sri Lankan junglefowl and red junglefowl diverged about 2.8 million years ago
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whereas, time of divergence between the Sri Lankan junglefowl and grey junglefowl was 1.8 million years ago.[2]
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Donate Evidence of introgressive hybridization from Sri Lanka junglefowl has also been established in domestic chicken.[2] The specific name of
the Sri Lankan junglefowl commemorates the French aristocrat Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette. In Sinhala, it is known as ව
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ළා (wali kukula)[3] and in Tamil, it is known as இலங் ைகக் காட் க்ேகா (ilaṅkaik kāṭṭukkōḻi).
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Learn to edit Contents [hide] Male in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri
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1 Description Lanka
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Upload file 2 Classification Conservation status
3 Habitat
Tools
4 Behaviour
What links here 4.1 Reproduction
Related changes Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
5 Tailless mutant
Special pages
6 References Scientific classification
Permanent link
Page information 7 External links Kingdom: Animalia
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Phylum: Chordata
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Description [ edit ] Class: Aves
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Order: Galliformes
As with other junglefowl, the Sri Lankan junglefowl is strongly sexually dimorphic; the male is much larger than the female, with more vivid
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plumage and a highly exaggerated wattle and comb. Family: Phasianidae
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The male Sri Lankan junglefowl ranges from 66–72 cm (26–28 in) in length[5] and 790–1,140 g (1.74–2.51 lb) in weight, essentially Genus: Gallus
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resembling a large, muscular rooster.[6] The male has orange-red body plumage, and dark purple to black wings and tail. The feathers of Species: G. lafayettii
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the mane descending from head to base of spine are golden, and the face has bare red skin and wattles. The comb is red with a yellow Binomial name
Wikispecies
centre. As with the green junglefowl, the cock does not possess an eclipse plumage. Gallus lafayettii
Languages Lesson, 1831
The female is much smaller, at only 35 cm (14 in) in length and 510–645 g (1.124–1.422 lb) in weight, with dull brown plumage with white
‫اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ patterning on the lower belly and breast, ideal camouflage for a nesting bird.[6]
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Classification [ edit ]

Bahasa Melayu This is one of four species of birds in the genus Gallus. The other three members of the genus are red junglefowl (G. gallus), grey
Русский
junglefowl (G. sonneratii), and green junglefowl (G. varius).
ංහල
த ழ் The Sri Lankan junglefowl is most closely related to the grey junglefowl,[7] though physically the male resembles the red junglefowl. Range
中文 Female Sri Lanka junglefowl are very similar to those of the grey junglefowl. Like the
 
28 more green junglefowl, Sri Lankan junglefowl are island species that have evolved side by side     Grey junglefowl – Gallus sonneratii
      Sri Lankan junglefowl – Gallus lafayettii
with their similarly stranded island predators and competitors. Uniquely complex anti- Gallus    
Edit links     Red junglefowl – Gallus gallus
predator behaviors and foraging strategies are integral components in the long  
  Green junglefowl – Gallus varius
 
evolutionary story of the Sri Lankan junglefowl.
Cladogram showing the species in the genus Gallus.[2][4]

Habitat [ edit ]

It is common in forests and scrub habitats, and is commonly spotted at sites such as Kitulgala, Yala, and Sinharaja.

Behaviour [ edit ]

As with other jungle fowl, Sri Lankan jungle fowl are primarily terrestrial. They spend most of their time foraging for food by scratching the ground
for various seeds, fallen fruit, and insects.
Female at Sinharaja
Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka Females lay two to four eggs in a nest, either on the forest floor in steep hill country or in the abandoned nests of other birds and squirrels. Like
the grey and green junglefowl, male Sri Lankan junglefowl play an active role in nest protection and chick rearing.

Reproduction [ edit ]

The reproductive strategy of this species is best described as facultative polyandry, in that a single female is typically linked with two or three males that form a pride of sorts.
These males are likely to be siblings. The female pairs with the alpha male of the pride and nests high off the ground.

Her eggs are highly variable in colour, but generally are cream with a yellow or pink tint. Purple or brownish spots are common.

Occasionally, a female produces red eggs or blotched eggs.

The hen incubates her eggs, while the alpha male guards her nest from a nearby perch during the nesting season. The beta males remain in close proximity, and guard the
nesting territory from intruders or potential predators, such as rival males, or snakes and mongooses. Sri Lankan junglefowl are unique amongst the junglefowl in the brevity of
their incubation, which may be as short as 20 days as contrasted with the 21–26 days of the green junglefowl.

The chicks require a constant diet of live food, usually insects and isopods such as sowbugs and pillbugs. In particular, the juveniles of land crabs are also highly important to the
growth and survivability of the juvenile and subadult Sri Lankan junglefowl. In captivity, this species is particularly vulnerable to a poultry disease caused by the bacteria
Salmonella pullorum and other bacterial diseases common in domestic poultry.

The chicks, and to a slightly lesser extent the adults, are incapable of using vegetable-based proteins and fats.[citation needed] Their dietary requirements cannot be met with
commercial processed food materials. As a result, they are exceedingly rare in captivity.

Tailless mutant [ edit ]

In 1868, the English naturalist Charles Darwin denied incorrectly the existence of a tailless mutant of Sri Lankan junglefowl, described in
1807 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.[8]

Gallus lafayettii - MHNT

References [ edit ]

1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Gallus lafayettii" . IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679209A92807515. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679209A92807515.en .
2. ^ a b c d Lawal, R.A.; et al. (2020). "The wild species genome ancestry of domestic chickens" . BMC Biology. 18 (13): 13. doi:10.1186/s12915-020-0738-1 . PMC 7014787 .
PMID 32050971 .
3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
4. ^ Tiley, G.P.; Pandey, A.; Kimball, R.T.; Braun, E.L.; Burleigh, J.G. (2020). "Whole genome phylogeny of Gallus: introgression and data‑type effects" . Avian Research. 11 (7).
doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00194-w .
5. ^ del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. Handbook of the Birds of the World Lynx Edicions, Barcelona
6. ^ a b CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
7. ^ International Chicken Polymorphism Map Consortium Wong, GK; et al. (2004). "A genetic variation map for chicken with 2.8 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms" . Nature. 432: 717–
722. doi:10.1038/nature03156 . PMC 2263125 . PMID 15592405 .
8. ^ Grouw, Hein van; Dekkers, Wim; Rookmaaker, Kees (2017). "On Temminck's tailless Ceylon Junglefowl, and how Darwin denied their existence" . Bulletin of the British Ornithologists'
Club. 137 (4): 261–271. doi:10.25226/bboc.v137i4.2017.a3 .

External links [ edit ]

ARKive - images and movies of the Sri Lanka junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii)

Lithograph of tailless mutant of Sri

Lankan junglefowl by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre
(1805 or 1806) commissioned by Coenraad
Jacob Temminck (Naturalis Biodiversity
Center, Leiden, the Netherlands)

Wikidata: Q256168 · Wikispecies: Gallus lafayettii · ARKive: gallus-lafayetii · EPPO: GALULA · GBIF: 5227766 · IRMNG: 10219030 · ITIS: 553881 ·
Taxon identifiers
NCBI: 9032 · TSA: 7268

Categories: IUCN Red List least concern species Junglefowls Endemic birds of Sri Lanka Birds described in 1831

This page was last edited on 26 September 2020, at 09:12 (UTC).

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