Wali Kukula - The Ceylon Junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii)

Identification

Size of a small, but not bantam, breed of domestic fowl. 

Behavior

Wali Kukula is a fairly common bird. It spends its life in forest or its outskirts, never venturing far from cover, though, especially in wet weather, it likes to frequent open places, such as roadsides or glades.The food of the Wali Kukula consists of grain, weed seeds, berries, various succulent leaves and buds, and a large proportion of small animals, such as crickets, centipedes and termites. When nillu flowers and seeds in up-country jungles, junglefowl migrate to these areas in large numbers to fatten on the abundant seed.

The main breeding season is in the first quarter of the year, but often a second clutch is laid in August-September, and breeding may go on throughout the year. The nest is often a shallow scrape in the ground, concealded by herbage, at the foot of a tree or beside a dead log. The eggs number two to four; they are creamy-white, some very finely peppered, other more boldly  but sparingly speckled with brown. They measure about 48 × 35 mm. 

Location

The Junglefowl is distributed throughout the Island, whenever jungle or dense scrub of any extent is to be found, but it is nowadays common only in the wilder parts of the dry zone.

Gallery