Md Nazmul Hasan Niaz at 22:23, 16 March 2026

2026-03-16T22:23:04Z

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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Grey junglefowl
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Gallus sonneratii'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22679203A92807338 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679203A92807338.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| image = Gallus sonneratii (Bandipur), crop.jpg
| image_caption = Cock in [[Bandipur National Park]]
| image2 = Gallus sonneratii - female (Thattekad).jpg
| image2_caption = Hen in [[Thattekad Bird Sanctuary]]
| genus = Gallus
| species = sonneratii
| authority = [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1813
| range_map = GallusSonneratiiMap.png
| range_map_caption = Actual spot records and presumed distribution
}}

The '''grey junglefowl''' ('''''Gallus sonneratii'''''), also known as '''Sonnerat's junglefowl''', is one of the wild ancestors of the [[Chicken|domestic chicken]] together with the [[red junglefowl]] and other [[junglefowl]]s.

The species epithet commemorates the French explorer [[Pierre Sonnerat]]. Local names include ''Komri'' in [[Rajasthan]], ''Geera kur'' or ''Parda komri'' in [[Gondi language|Gondi]], ''Jangli Murghi'' in [[Hindi]], ''Raan kombdi'' in [[Marathi language|Marathi]], ''Kattu Kozhi'' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Malayalam]], ''Kaadu koli'' in [[Kannada]] and ''Tella adavi kodi'' in [[Telugu language|Telugu]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vernacular Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent |journal=Buceros |author=Anonymous |year=1998 |volume=3 |issue=1 |url=http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/vol%203%20(1).pdf |pages=53–109 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401015111/http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/vol%203%20%281%29.pdf |archive-date=2010-04-01 }}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Grey jfowl jgould.jpg|thumb|left|Painting by [[John Gould]]]]
[[File:Grey Junglefowl by Samad Kottur.jpg|thumb|left|Grey junglefowl cock in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, India]]

The male has a black cape with ochre spots and the body plumage on a grey ground colour is finely patterned. The elongated neck feathers are dark and end in a small, hard, yellowish plate; this peculiar structure making them popular for making high-grade [[Artificial fly|artificial flies]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=US Fish and Wildlife|title=Identification Notes|url=http://www.lab.fws.gov/lab/docs/idnotes/pdf/IDB911.PDF|access-date=2006-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925213512/http://www.lab.fws.gov/lab/docs/idnotes/pdf/IDB911.PDF|archive-date=2006-09-25}}</ref> The male has red wattles and combs but not as strongly developed as in the [[red junglefowl]]. Legs of males are red and have spurs while the yellow legs of females usually lack spurs.<ref name="rasmussen" /><ref>{{cite journal|year=1954|title= Occurrence of spurs in the female junglefowl (''Gallus sonnerati'')|journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume=52|issue=2–3|pages=603–604|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48184493}}</ref> The central tail feathers are long and sickle shaped. Males have an eclipse plumage in which they moult their colourful neck feathers in summer during or after the breeding season.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/1366508|author=Morejohn, G. V. |year=1968|title= Study of the plumage of the four species of the genus ''Gallus''|jstor=1366508|journal= The Condor|volume=70|issue=1|pages=56–65}}</ref>

The female is duller and has black and white streaking on the underparts and yellow legs.

==Distribution and habitat==
This species is [[endemic]] to [[India]], and even today it is found mainly in peninsular India and towards the northern boundary. They are found in thickets, on the forest floor and open scrub. The species occurs mainly in the [[Indian Peninsula]], but extends into [[Gujarat]], [[Madhya Pradesh]] and southern Rajasthan. The [[red junglefowl]] is found more along the foothills of the [[Himalayas]]; a region of overlap occurs in the [[Aravalli Range|Aravalli]] range.<ref name=rasmussen /> although the ranges are largely non-overlapping.<ref name=hbk />

=== Disputed subspecies ===
The populations from the [[Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary|region]] of [[Mount Abu]] in Rajasthan named as the [[subspecies]] ''wangyeli'' is usually not recognized<ref>{{cite book |author=Storer, R. W. |title=Type Specimens of Birds in the Collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |year=1988 |publisher=University of Michigan, Miscellaneous publications No. 174 |url=http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56418/1/MP174.pdf}}</ref> although it is said that the calls of the cock from this region differs from the call of birds from southern India and the plumage is much paler.<ref name=hbk>{{cite book |author1=Ali, S. |author2=Ripley, S. D. |title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan |volume=2 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=106–109}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
Their loud calls of ''Ku-kayak-kyuk-kyuk'' ({{audio|G-sonnerati.ogg|Call of male}}{{audio|Greyjunglefowl.ogg|Other calls}}{{audio|Greyjunglefowl1.ogg|calls}}) are loud and distinctive, and can be heard in the early mornings and at dusk. Unlike the red junglefowl, the male does not flap its wings before uttering the call.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924016412631#page/n38/mode/1up|pages=21–23|title=The game birds of India and Asia|author=Finn, Frank|year=1911|publisher=Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta}}</ref> They breed from February to May.<ref name=rasmussen>{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen PC |author2=JC Anderton |year=2005| title= Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2|page=132 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions}}</ref> They lay 4 to 7 eggs which are pale creamy in a scrape. Eggs hatch in about 21 days. Although mostly seen on the ground, grey junglefowl fly into trees to escape predators and to roost. They forage in small mixed or single sex groups. They feed on grains including [[bamboo]] seeds, berries, insects and [[termite]]s, and are hunted for meat and for the long neck hackle feathers that are sought after for making [[fishing lure]]s.

==Relationships==
{{Phylogeny/Gallus}}
Grey junglefowl have been bred domestically in [[England]] since 1862<ref name="Jungle Cock">{{cite web|author=Bransford Game Fisheries|title=Jungle Cock|url=http://bransfordgame.com/jungle-cock/|work=Bransford Game Fisheries|publisher=Fisherman's feathers|access-date=28 September 2013}}</ref> and their feathers have been commercially supplied from domestic U.K. stocks for [[fly tying]] since 1978.<ref name="Jungle Cock" /> A gene from the grey junglefowl is responsible for the yellow pigment in the legs and different body parts of all the domestic chicken breeds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229102059.htm|title=Darwin Was Wrong About Wild Origin Of The Chicken, New Research Shows|work=sciencedaily.com}}</ref> A more recent study revealed multiple grey junglefowl genomic regions introgressed the genome of the domestic chicken, with evidence of some domestic chicken genes also found in the grey junglefowl.<ref name="dc">{{cite journal |last1=Lawal |first1=R.A. |display-authors=etal |year=2020 |title=The wild species genome ancestry of domestic chickens |journal=BMC Biology |volume=18 |issue=13 |page=13 |doi=10.1186/s12915-020-0738-1 |doi-access=free |pmid=32050971 |pmc=7014787}}</ref>

The grey junglefowl will sometimes [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridize]] in the wild with the [[red junglefowl]]. It also hybridizes readily in captivity and sometimes with free-range domestic chickens kept in habitations close to forests. The grey junglefowl and red junglefowl diverged about 2.6 million years ago.<ref name="dc"/>
The species has been isolated by a variety of mechanisms, including behavioural differences and genic incompatibility, but hybridization is not unknown.<ref name= Eriksson>{{cite journal |vauthors=Eriksson J, Larson G, Gunnarsson U, Bed'hom B, Tixier-Boichard M, etal |title=Identification of the ''Yellow Skin'' Gene Reveals a Hybrid Origin of the Domestic Chicken|journal= PLOS Genetics|volume=4|issue=2|article-number=e1000010|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000010|editor1-last=Georges|editor1-first=Michel| year=2008|pmid=18454198|pmc=2265484 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/2406881|pmid=28564768|author=Morejohn, G. Victor|year=1968|title=Breakdown of Isolation Mechanisms in Two Species of Captive Junglefowl (''Gallus gallus'' and ''Gallus sonneratii'')|jstor=2406881 |journal=Evolution|volume=22|issue=3|pages=576–582}}</ref> Some phylogenetic studies of gray junglefowl show that this species is more closely related to the [[Sri Lankan junglefowl]] ''Gallus lafayetii'' than to the red junglefowl, ''Gallus gallus'',<ref name="dc"/><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1073/pnas.93.13.6792|author=Fumihito, Akishinonomiya |author2=Tetsuo Miyake |author3=Masaru Takada |author4=Ryosuke Shingut |author5=Toshinori Endo |author6=Takashi Gojobori |author7=Norio Kondo |author8=Susumu Ohno |name-list-style=amp |year=1996|title= Monophyletic origin and unique dispersal patterns of domestic fowls|journal= Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. |volume=93|issue=13|pages=6792–6795 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/93/13/6792.pdf|pmid=8692897|pmc=39106|bibcode=1996PNAS...93.6792F |doi-access=free}}</ref> but another study shows a more ambiguous position due to hybridization.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2052.2005.01318.x|author1=Nishibori, M. |author2=Shimogiri, T. |author3=Hayashi, T. |author4=Yasue, H. |year=2005|title=Molecular evidence for hybridization of species in the genus ''Gallus'' except for ''Gallus varius''|journal= Animal Genetics|volume=36|issue=5|pages=367–375|pmid=16167978}}</ref> However, the time of divergence between the gray junglefowl and [[Sri Lankan junglefowl]] around 1.8 million years ago is more recent than 2.6 million years ago calculated for between the gray junglefowl and red junglefowl.<ref name="dc"/> This divergence time supports a sister relationship between gray junglefowl and Sri Lankan junglefowl.<ref name="dc"/>

An endogenous retroviral DNA sequence, of the EAV-HP group noted in domestic chickens is also found in the genome of this species pointing to the early integration of the virus DNA into the genome of ''Gallus''.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1128/JVI.75.4.2029-2032.2001|author1=Sacci, MA |author2=K Howes |author3=K Venugopal |year=2001|title=Intact EAV-HP Endogenous Retrovirus in Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl|journal=Journal of Virology |volume=75|issue=4|pages=2029–2032 |url= |pmid=11160706|pmc=115153}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Other sources ==
* Tehsin, Raza H (1988) Inducing sleep in birds. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 85(2):435-436.
* Chitampalli, MB (1977) Occurrence of Grey Junglefowl and Red Junglefowl together. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 74(3):527.
* Abdulali, Humayun (1957) The Grey Junglefowl in Salsette. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 54(4):946.
* Tehsin, Raza; Tehsin, Fatema (1990) Jungle Cat ''Felis chaus'' and Grey Junglefowl ''Gallus sonneratii''. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 87(1):144.
* Morris, RC (1927) A jungle fowl problem. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 32(2):374.
* {{cite journal|author= Sethna, KR |year=1969| title=Grey Junglefowl in South India|journal=[[Newsletter for Birdwatchers]] |volume=9|issue=11|page=10| url=https://archive.org/stream/NLBW9#page/n157/mode/1up}}
* Ali, S (1968) The case of the Indian Grey Junglefowl. ''[[Newsletter for Birdwatchers]]'' . 8(5):5-6.
* Subramanian, C; Kambarajan, P; Sathyanarayana, MC (2001) Roosting tree preference by Grey Junglefowl, (''Gallus sonneratti'') at Theni Forest Division, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, south India. Mor 4(February), 9:11.
* Zacharias, VJ (1993) Grey Jungle Fowl in Kerala. WPA-India News 1(1):9-10.



== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gallus sonneratii}}
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=247&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210061213/http://www.gbwf.org/pheasants/junglefowl_sonnerat.html Gamebirds and waterfowl]
* [http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/NDG/BRKGJF.html Grey Junglefowl in poultry practice]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q304434}}

[[Category:Birds described in 1813]]
[[Category:Endemic birds of India]]
[[Category:Fauna of South Asia]]
[[Category:Junglefowls]]

Grey junglefowl - Revision history

Md Nazmul Hasan Niaz at 22:23, 16 March 2026