<P> Red junglefowl regularly bathe in dust to keep just the right balance in their plumage . The dust absorbs extra oil and subsequently falls off . </P> <P> Flight in these birds is almost purely confined to reaching their roosting areas at sunset in trees or any other high and relatively safe places free from ground predators, and for escape from immediate danger through the day . </P> <P> In 2012, a study was published that examined mitochondrial DNA recovered from ancient bones from Europe, Thailand, the Pacific and Chile, and from Spanish colonial sites in Florida and the Dominican Republic, in directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1,000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3,000 B.P. The study showed that chickens were most likely domesticated from wild red junglefowl, though some have suggested possible genetic contributions from other junglefowl species . Domestication occurred at least 7,400 years ago from a common ancestor flock in the bird's natural range, then proceeded in waves both east and west . The paper also states that the earliest undisputed domestic chicken remains are bones associated with a date of approximately 5,400 BC from the Chishan site, in the Hebei province of China . In the Ganges region of India, red junglefowl were being used by humans as early as 7,000 years ago . No domestic chicken remains older than 4,000 years have been identified in the Indus Valley, and the antiquity of chickens recovered from excavations at Mohenjodaro is still debated . </P> <P> The other three members of the genus--Sri Lanka junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii), grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii), and the green junglefowl (Gallus varius)--do not usually produce fertile hybrids with the red junglefowl, suggesting that it is the sole ancestor of the domestic chicken . However, recent research has revealed the absence of the yellow skin gene in the wild red junglefowl found in domestic birds, which suggests hybridisation with the grey junglefowl during the domestication of the species . A culturally significant hybrid between the red junglefowl and the green junglefowl in Indonesia is known as the bekisar . </P>

Where did the red jungle fowl come from