The Gray Junglefowl is a pheasant relative of forests and scrub in peninsular India. The sexes differ in plumage and leg colour, and males also have a seasonal plumage change.
Males have grey streaking and a metallic black sickle-shaped tail. Females have a white breast with dark-edged feathers that form a scaly pattern. Male legs are red and female legs yellow.
Grey Junglefowl are wild chicken relatives of peninsular India. At Kalakad-Mundanthurai in autumn 2007, birds were seen alone or in small parties; the largest observed group contained three birds.
A 2008 study compared DNA from yellow- and white-skinned domestic chickens and several junglefowl species. The yellow-skin region in chickens closely resembled the corresponding DNA of Grey Junglefowl.
This region influences the breakdown of yellow dietary pigments in the skin. Reduced activity in yellow-skinned chickens allows pigment to accumulate. The researchers inferred that the yellow-skin variant most likely entered domestic chickens through past hybridization involving Grey Junglefowl.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2012 field report highlights limited population monitoring even within protected areas and calls for research on status, distribution and habitat needs. Because visibility differs among habitats, consistent monitoring can help assess populations across forest types.