The gray junglefowl, also known as Sonnerat's junglefowl, is one of the wild ancestors of the domestic chicken together with the red junglefowl and other junglefowls.
Region
Peninsular India
Typical Environment
Occurs across much of peninsular India, especially the Western and Eastern Ghats and adjacent Deccan Plateau. It favors dry and moist deciduous forests, scrub and thorn woodland, bamboo thickets, and forest edges. Birds often utilize secondary growth, plantations, and cultivated margins as long as cover is available. They avoid dense evergreen interiors and very open grasslands, keeping close to undergrowth for cover.
Altitude Range
0–1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 3/5
The gray (grey) junglefowl, or Sonnerat's junglefowl, is one of the wild ancestors of the domestic chicken, alongside the red junglefowl. Males have distinctive golden, horn-like lanceolate hackles historically prized in traditional fly-tying. It hybridizes readily with domestic chickens where they overlap, which can affect wild genetics. They roost in trees at night and are most active on the forest floor at dawn and dusk.
Painting by John Gould
Grey junglefowl cock in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, India
Temperament
wary and alert
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with explosive flushes; strong but brief flights into trees to roost
Social Behavior
Usually found in small groups with one male and several females; males display with wing-whirring and crowing. Nests are shallow ground scrapes concealed in dense cover. Breeding often peaks before and during the monsoon. They roost communally in low branches at night.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The male gives a sharp, staccato crow, a harsher and shorter sequence than the domestic rooster. Both sexes produce clucks and cackles, with loud alarm calls when disturbed. Display includes a wing-whirr followed by rapid notes.
