Gallus varius
System : Terrestrial
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Galliformes
Phasianidae
  • Not Evaluated
    NE
  • No Alien Population
    NA
  • Data Deficient
    DD
  • Minimal Concern
    MC
  • Minor
    MN
  • Moderate
    MO
  • Major
    MR
  • Massive
    MV
  • General
  • Distribution
  • Impact
  • Management
  • Bibliography
  • Contact
Common name
Gabelschwanzhuhn (German), viherviidakkokana (Finnish), Coq de Java (French), Gallo de Java (Spanish), kur zielony (Polish), Gallo selvatico di Giava (Italian), Paradishane (Norwegian), aoeriyakei (Japanese), Vorkstaarthoen (Dutch), kura pestrá (Slovak), kur zelený (Czech), Grøn Junglehøne (Danish)
Synonym
Similar species
Summary
Gallus spp. include the many forms of domesticated chicken which have been bred and distributed widely across the world as an important food source. In addition to potentially spreading disease to other avian fauna, as generalist feeders, Gallus spp. may also negatively impact upon native flora and fauna.
Species Description
Gallus spp. are highly variable medium sized birds capable of short ranged flight.
Nutrition
Gallus spp. are generalist feeders on a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates as well as plants and seeds.
Pathway
Gallus spp. have been widely distributed and bred as a food source for humans (Pyle & Pyle, 2009).

Principal source:

Compiler: IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) with support from the Overseas Territories Environmental Programme (OTEP) project XOT603, a joint project with the Cayman Islands Government - Department of Environment

Review:

Publication date: 2010-09-24

Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Gallus varius. Downloaded from http://iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1745 on 30-11-2024.

General Impacts
Gallus spp. also can carry a number of diseases which may be harmful to other avian fauna such as Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and the proventricular parasite Dispharynx sp. on the Galapagos Islands (Gottdenka et al., 2005).

In populations of Gallus spp. bred for food, there are risks of carrying disease causing pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii and Salmonella spp. (Dubey, 2009). Although not confirmed, there were also fears that Gallus spp. could be a vector for the H5N1 avian bird flu (Daily Gazette, 2006).

Having a highly generalist diet, Gallus spp. could negatively impact native invertebrates and verbrates as well as native plants (Varnham, 2006). Feral Gallus spp. are also known to be a pest on farms, damaging crops and potentially spreading disease to domesticated Gallus spp. populations (Varnham, 1996; Daily Gazette, 1998.).

In high numbers, Gallus spp. can become a human nuisance due to the noise made by males.
They are potential risks to aircraft near airports (Daily Gazette, 1998).

Management Info
Physical control: Feral individual Gallus spp. are often controlled via shooting or trapping as carried out on Bermuda and the Cayman Islands (Varnham, 2006). On the Cayman Islands, trapped feral individuals were then distributed to people who kept chickens (Varnham, 2006).

Chemical control: On Lord Howe Island, Gallus spp. were one of the species identified to be put at risk from use of brodifacoum for rodent eradication (Lord Howe Island Board, 2009). However, no information could be found regarding chemical control programs for Gallus spp.. On Bermuda, chemical control was not considered due to the risk of non-target effects on other avian fauna and farmer's crops (Daily Gazette, 2006).

Countries (or multi-country features) with distribution records for Gallus varius
ALIEN RANGE
NATIVE RANGE
  • indonesia
Informations on Gallus varius has been recorded for the following locations. Click on the name for additional informations.
Lorem Ipsum
Location Status Invasiveness Occurrence Source
Details of Gallus varius in information
Status
Invasiveness
Arrival date
Occurrence
Source
Introduction
Species notes for this location
Location note
Management notes for this location
Impact
Mechanism:
Outcome:
Ecosystem services:
Impact information
Gallus spp. also can carry a number of diseases which may be harmful to other avian fauna such as Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and the proventricular parasite Dispharynx sp. on the Galapagos Islands (Gottdenka et al., 2005).

In populations of Gallus spp. bred for food, there are risks of carrying disease causing pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii and Salmonella spp. (Dubey, 2009). Although not confirmed, there were also fears that Gallus spp. could be a vector for the H5N1 avian bird flu (Daily Gazette, 2006).

Having a highly generalist diet, Gallus spp. could negatively impact native invertebrates and verbrates as well as native plants (Varnham, 2006). Feral Gallus spp. are also known to be a pest on farms, damaging crops and potentially spreading disease to domesticated Gallus spp. populations (Varnham, 1996; Daily Gazette, 1998.).

In high numbers, Gallus spp. can become a human nuisance due to the noise made by males.
They are potential risks to aircraft near airports (Daily Gazette, 1998).

Red List assessed species 1: LC = 1;
View more species View less species
Locations
AUSTRALIA
Mechanism
[2] Competition
Outcomes
[1] Environmental Ecosystem - Habitat
  • [1] Reduction in native biodiversity
Management information
Physical control: Feral individual Gallus spp. are often controlled via shooting or trapping as carried out on Bermuda and the Cayman Islands (Varnham, 2006). On the Cayman Islands, trapped feral individuals were then distributed to people who kept chickens (Varnham, 2006).

Chemical control: On Lord Howe Island, Gallus spp. were one of the species identified to be put at risk from use of brodifacoum for rodent eradication (Lord Howe Island Board, 2009). However, no information could be found regarding chemical control programs for Gallus spp.. On Bermuda, chemical control was not considered due to the risk of non-target effects on other avian fauna and farmer's crops (Daily Gazette, 2006).

Locations
AUSTRALIA
Management Category
None
Bibliography
10 references found for Gallus varius

Management information
Commonwealth of Australia. 2005. National Recovery Plan for the Buff-banded Rail (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
Summary: Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/g-andrewsi.pdf [Accessed 3 April 2010]
IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)., 2010. A Compilation of Information Sources for Conservation Managers.
Summary: This compilation of information sources can be sorted on keywords for example: Baits & Lures, Non Target Species, Eradication, Monitoring, Risk Assessment, Weeds, Herbicides etc. This compilation is at present in Excel format, this will be web-enabled as a searchable database shortly. This version of the database has been developed by the IUCN SSC ISSG as part of an Overseas Territories Environmental Programme funded project XOT603 in partnership with the Cayman Islands Government - Department of Environment. The compilation is a work under progress, the ISSG will manage, maintain and enhance the database with current and newly published information, reports, journal articles etc.
The Daily Gazette. 2006. Chicken cull to combat bird flu.
Summary: Available from http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d628923003001c [Accessed 8 April 2010]
General information
Avibase, 2003. Green Junglefowl (Gallus varius) (Shaw, 1798)
Summary: Available from: http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=BEA427FB0DC089BD [Accessed 3 April 2010]
BirdLife International 2009. Gallus varius. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Summary: Available from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/141322/0 [Accessed 3 April 2010]
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), 2010. Gallus varius (Shaw, 1798)
Summary: Available from: http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176089 [Accessed 3 April 2010]
Stokes, Tony; Wendy Sheils and Kevin Dunn, 1984. Birds of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean. Emu 84(1) 23 - 28
The Daily Gazette. 1998. As feral cats die off, chickens multiply.
Summary: Available from http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7ce409330030008 [Accessed 8 April 2010]
The Daily Gazette. 2006. Govt.: Poisoning feral chickens is illegal.
Summary: Available from http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?sectionId=60&articleId=7d4aa0e30030014 [Accessed 8 April, 2010]
Varnham, K 2006. Non-native species in UK Overseas Territories: a review JNCC Report No. 372
Summary: Available from: http://www.caymanbiodiversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jncc372_web.pdf [Accessed 9 April 2010]
Contact
The following 0 contacts offer information an advice on Gallus varius
MR
Gallus varius
Gabelschwanzhuhn, viherviidakkokana, Coq de Java, Gallo de Java, kur zielony, Gallo selvatico di Giava, Paradishane, aoeriyakei, Vorkstaarthoen, kura pestrá, kur zelený, Grøn Junglehøne
Date assessed
2021-09-15
Year published
2023
Eicat category
MR (Major)
Justification for EICAT assessment


Competition with Green Junglefowls, habitat modification, predation by cats, rats and humans have all probably contributed to the local extinction of the Cocos Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi [syn.Hypotaenidia philippensis]) on the Southern Atoll. When the Southern Atoll population became small and fragmented, it is likely that cat predation became the most potent threat (Reid and Hill 2005).
Confidence rating
Low
Mechanism(s) of maximum impact
Competition
Countries of most severe impact
Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Description of impacts
Competition with the Green Junglefowl has probably contributed to the decline and local extinction of the Cocos Buff-banded Rail on the Southern Atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Assessor
Tom Allmert; Thomas Evans
Contributors
Reviewers
EICAT authority
Recommended citation
Tom Allmert, Thomas Evans (2024). Gallus varius. IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT).