“I saw this odd Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus spadiceus), an adult female feeding by the road side at the outskirts of the city (above, below). The bird had a larger comb that I am used to in females, brighter plumage in the head and neck and a clear white ear-wattle. I considered if this was a juvenile male but that is not likely; the bird looked like an adult. Another possibility is a hermaphrodite (gynandromorphy) with mixed male and female characteristics. I wonder if some form of hybridisation can cause this appearance? Appreciate opinions from personal experience.
“The adult male Red Junglefowl has long, sharp tarso-metatarsal spurs (Wells 1999). Although females are said by some to not have these spurs, Madge & McGowan (2002) says that some females may have a very short spur. Peters, et al (2016) say they are present in old female birds. They also say that the ‘shape and size of the spur enable distinguishing between infantile, juvenile, young-adult and mature birds‘.
“Breeding males are said to use the spur in fights with other rival males. I observed 2 adult males and 3 adult females. Both males had sizable tarso-metatarsal spurs (above)…
“…and two females had ‘knobs’ at the spur location (above).
“Notice also that the scales of the male and female feet are a little different – males tend to have more of shiny metallic grey look and females more a shiny off-brown look. The above and below show the same pair.
References:
1. Joris Peters, Ophélie Lebrasseur, Hui Deng, Greger Larson. Holocene cultural history of Red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) and its domestic descendant in East Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 142, 15 June 2016, Pages 102-119
2. Madge, S., McGowan, P. 2002. Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Location: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Secondary growth at city fringe
15th & 23rd May 2019
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