“Continuing the story of the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus from Part I HERE.
The Mating Game
“Sri had left her 2 chicks, probably between 6 to 8 weeks old, to be on their own a few days ago. She was in heat to produce the next brood. Watch the mating game as Lao Da (with upright tail) chased away Lao Er, his competitor. At one stage (@1′ 18” of the video), Lao Er was so aggressive in pursuing Sri that she took flight literally to escape. During the 20 minutes I watched them, Lao Da mated with the hen twice. The open field, outside my condo where the game played out, offered almost total unobstructed view of the event.
“The video was edited from clips recorded on 4th Jun 2013.
Red Junglefowl Chicks Snuggle Up To Mother
“A video edited from clips recorded on 30th May 2013 [is shown above]. This is a scene where the young chicks seek the protection and warmth of mother hen Manis in between foraging. It is likely to be unfamiliar to most people belonging to the younger generations in Singapore.
“It reminded me of my childhood days when I would snuggle close to my mother even when she was doing her school work at home.
“In the video, Manis appeared to be regurgitating undigested food but I was unable to see anything expelled even when viewed frame by frame.
Male Red Junglefowl Agitated Calls
“Heard the alarm call of the Red Junglefowl from a distance in the morning of 20 May 2013, but could not see anything that was causing the alarm. Finally traced it to a tree and found Lao Da making the calls. A little while later, found Sri with her two juveniles sitting quietly on a different branch of the tree. One of the juveniles was seen taking forty winks, with the nictitating membrane closing and opening occasionally.”
Sun Chong Hong
Singapore
4th July 2013
Leave a Reply