15-11-1994

Dear Mister William,

Excuse me for this long silence, but I am been busy in correcting the part of my book regarding the plumage colour, and this chapter is very hard and difficult. Now I am going a little rapidly on skeleton, bill, shanks, skin etc.

In these days I have had the opportunity to read an article about Mononychus and I send you a photocopy, it is written in Portuguese, I know this language, and if you are interesting and you find nobody who can translate to you, I may synthesise in another letter. But I think that you know this argument. If you need, you may read the name of the scientists. You have contacts with all the world! When I have seen the picture of this little dinosaur, I have told to me "Mister Plant without doubt will be very happy seeing as this animal is similar to his Malay!". The Mononychus was much spread in Mongolia!

Going to the Netherlands, in Germany, in the city of Marburg, I have contacted Mister Vits who is a fancier of long crowing cocks. He breeds Totenko, Tomaru, Denizli. He gave me the article about phylogenetic studies on the Japanese native breeds, an I send you a photocopy.

I have found the explanation of the word pile in the book of Jeffrey: it becomes from an araldic figure, and I think that it may be true.

About the Yokohama colour I think I have collected some information in the Crawford's and in the Carefoot's books: it is the colour of the Bankiva, where the mahogany gene is restricting the black in the tip of the red feathers, after the dominant white males the substitution of the black. The Mh gene has a spangling action too.

About the Bankiva I have an ask: in the book Van Gink Poultry Painting, Mr Van Wulfften Palthe writes that red junglefowls are usually monogamous. In the book of Grzimek I have read that's the Green Junglefowl monogamous. I have read again all your book about the junglefowls, but the Bankiva has many hens, has an harem! Please, do you may confirm to me that the Bankiva is polygamous and that the Gallus Varius is monogamous? Thank you.

Sorry, but you have not enclosed your card of radioamateur for my cousin. I wait in the next letter. But overall I am sorry for your eyes! You have many scientific notices to give to all of us.

I am waiting for the new computer because I have decided to be the editor of myself with a laser printer in B&W, with a colour printer of my cousin. The images become from my slides. With a compact disk in now possible manipulating the photographs, and I think made colour pages separate from the text. In the text I will put images B&W captured with a scanner using a new edition of software Word from the Microsoft. I am impatient as a child to begin! I hope terminate this job, and you will be the first person to receive the book. When? I don’t know!!! The winter here is very long and it's good working in home!

I thank you very much. Wishes for your eyes. And wishes for your barred Pekin...