The Red Jungle Fowl

The wild progenitor of all domestic fowl — the Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus) — drawn by Audubon from life at the Zoological Society of London’s menagerie in 1827. Audubon’s plate depicts the cock in full moult, with the long, sweeping sickle feathers of the wild form clearly distinguished from the more compact plumage of the domestic strains.

The plate is a landmark of natural-history illustration. It is the first Western published image of the wild form; Audubon’s notes acknowledge the species’ identification as the ancestor of the domestic fowl — a conclusion that would not become zoological orthodoxy for another century.

The original copper plate is held by the Natural History Museum, London. The Havell edition prints are in major museum collections worldwide.