Red junglefowl have been mostly genetically interbred with domestic and feral chickens, as a survey of 745 museum specimens has shown. A sign of pure wild genotypes for G. gallus is, for males, an eclipse plumage. This eclipse plumage has been seen only in populations in the western and central of the species' geographic range. It is believed that G. gallus has disappeared from extreme south-eastern Asia and the Phillippines. This suggestion is supported by an intense scientific collection made in 1860. In the 1960's, studies in north-eastern India revealed a population of red junglefowl exhibiting the eclipse plumage. The purity of the species is in danger because of the region's dense human population, whose domestic chickens could continue to contaminate G. gallus genetically. (Peterson and Brisbin 1999)

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern