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Red Junglefowl | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Red Junglefowl

Gallus gallus

AvesForest edge, bamboo thicket, scrub and secondary growthLeast Concern

Field profile

The red junglefowl is a slender forest gamebird and the principal wild ancestor of the domestic chicken. Males are glossy red and gold with a dark tail and a red comb; females are cryptic brown. It forages on the ground and roosts in trees.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-07-22

Red Junglefowl

Every chicken descends from a forest pheasant

The domestic chicken, now the most numerous bird on Earth, comes from the red junglefowl of Asian forest edges. Genetic work shows the lineage also carries genes from at least one other junglefowl species, notably the yellow-skin gene.

Read with evidence →