Trivia question for Jun-26-2011

Olivia loved the colors of these guys which is why she wrote todays trivia about them.  These birds are a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridization with another type of its species. They were first raised in captivity at least several thousand years ago in Asia, and the domesticated form has been used all around the world as a very productive food source for both meat and eggs.

Current research suggests that the genetic integrity of this species across its natural range appears to prove that the pure form is quite rare and may even be extinct, only represented in the wild by birds with various degrees of back crossing with domestic selections (breeds) of the species.  Purebred versions are thought to be facing a serious threat of extinction because of genetic pollution which is occurring at the edge of forests where domesticated free ranging chickens are commonly kept in bordering villages and towns.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this bird is and where they can be found.  Also, the domestic chicken – a descendant of these birds – is the most abundant bird in the world.  Tell us how many domesticated chickens are reportedly on our planet?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Olivia is all smiles because she was obviously able to stump the audience again with her trivia 😉  The colorful bird we featured is the Red Junglefowl. The range of the true species stretches from northeast India (where the pure species has almost certainly been diluted with cross breeding from domestic breeds) eastwards across southern China and down into Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. Junglefowl are established on several of the Hawaiian Islands, but these are feral descendants of domestic chickens. They can also be found on Christmas Island and the Marianas.

The domestic version of these birds (a.k.a. common chicken) are the most abundant bird in the world with a population exceeding a staggering eight billion.  This outnumbers humans by about two billion… OMG!  Here is more on these popular birds.  Red Junglefowl

Thanks for playing along 😉