BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-05)

The red junglefowl is

found across South-East

Asia and is an ancestor

of the domestic chicken.

May 2020 BBC Wildlife 85

H

ow did the chicken cross the

road? If it’s a modern breed,

probably not by flying. But chickens

haven’t always been so

grounded. Our domesticated

birds are mainly descended

from red junglefowl, native

to India and South-East Asia,

where they’re capable of small

flights and near-vertical lift off into

trees, to escape predators and to

roost. Yet in the 8,000 years since

humans began rearing chickens

for food, the selective pressures

became less about escaping

predators, and more about our

gastronomic predilections.

Breeding for fat thighs and

large breast muscles have added

so much extra bulk that many

common breeds now struggle to get

airborne. That said, smaller breeds

like bantams – the featherweights

of the chicken coop – can still

escape many a low fence. The

current world record for chicken

flight is 13 seconds, with the longest

distancing a whopping 92m. That’s

one giant leap for chicken kind!

Ellen Husain

Can chickens y?

ORNITHOLOGY