Roosting Site Selection of Red Jungle Fowl during the Breeding Season in Hainan

Roosting sites are vital to red jungle fowl(Gallus gallus) since their daily routines tend to center around their roosts during the breeding season. We investigated the roosting sites of Gallus gallus jabouillei during their main breeding season from February to May 2008 with plot methods in Datian National Nature Reserve,Hainan Province. 15 roosting sites were sampled. The results showed:1) Generally,the fowls gathered in a small group of 2～6(3.3±1.5,n=13) individuals and roosted in one or more overlapping branches in the same tree or adjacent trees at night. 2) Rain forest and shrub were the primary roosting vegetation types in the deciduous season. 3) Bambusa bambos and Lannea coromandelica were important roosting plants,accounting for 53.3% and 20.0% of roosts respectively. 4) The species preferred roosting habitats with lush bushes but poor herb coverage,and roosted on trees or shrubs with an average tree diameter at breast height of 8.4 cm±3.5 cm and an average height of 4.4 m±0.8 m. 5) Factor analysis showed that the height of the roosting tree,roosting height,tree diameter at breast height,herb coverage,cover of the roosting layer,below cover and upper cover of the roosts were the primary parameters that determined the roosting sites. We concluded that the fowls tende to select habitats which are easy to rapidly escape from and have good shelters because of its high vigilance.