Grey Junglefowl

The Grey Junglefowl is a forest gamebird endemic to peninsular India, related to the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken but with its own distinctive plumage. Males show gray neck hackles tipped with a strange, glossy, wax-like yellow spangle at the very tip of each feather, an unusual texture not seen in other junglefowl species, combined with a gray-black, white-spotted body and a long, dark, arching tail.

• Neck hackles (male): gray feathers each tipped with a small, glassy, wax-like yellow spangle, a texture unique among junglefowl.
• Body (male): gray-black ground color finely spotted with white.
• Tail (male): long, dark, and gently curved, though generally less exaggerated than the Red Junglefowl's sickle feathers.
• Female plumage: mottled brown and buff, cryptic, with a much shorter tail.
• Comb and facial skin: bare red skin, larger and more developed in males.

Males acquire the full hackle-and-spangle plumage after their first complete molt, while females remain cryptically colored year-round for camouflage while nesting. Juveniles resemble females until males mature. One complete molt occurs annually.

This species is endemic to India, inhabiting dry deciduous and moist forest across the peninsula. It is non-migratory, remaining resident within forest and forest-edge habitat throughout the year.

Grey Junglefowl forage on the forest floor for seeds, fruit, and invertebrates, scratching through leaf litter much like other junglefowl. Males are territorial, giving a crowing call distinct in cadence from the Red Junglefowl's, and defend small groups of females. Nests are shallow ground scrapes concealed in dense vegetation. The species roosts in trees at night.