M E L E A G R I S G A L L O P A V O .
occupied, fierce battles ensue, ending generally in the death o f the weaker party, unless he is fortunate enough to escape by
flight. The males do not always confine their attentions to one female; sometimes several of the latter may be seen accompanying
one gobbler, until they commence to lay, when they hide themselves for the greater part of the day in order to safe', their eggs,
which he would destroy whenever he obtained the opportunity. The nest, a very'simple structure, is generally placed iri some
thicket, to conceal it from the prying eyes o f its various would-be despoilers; and the hen approaches it with great caution, rarely
entering it twice from the same direction. The number o f eggs deposited varies considerably, some nests having ten, others" as
many as twenty. They are of a dull cream-colour, profusely sprinkled with red spots. The young, when first hatched, are covered
with a delicate hairy down, and are very tender—so susceptible to the influence of the weather that, should the season be rainy,
great difficulty is experienced by the hen in raising th em ; for they rarely, survive a thorough wetting. To guard- against such a
catastrophe, the first night is generally passed by the young brood in Ih e nest, and the mother then leads them to elevated dry
places, reposing them a t night under her outspread wings until they ai;et.two. weeks old,, when they roost upon the broad branch
of a tree, stilL covered, lipwever, by their watchful parent’s win£s. The Turkey has many enemies beside man ; and among those
most feared by it are, perhaps, the Lynx and Great-horned Owl. The former sucks their eggs, and seizes both the young and old
birds, his stealthy, noiseless progress enabling bun to approach even so wary a bird unnoticed. The Owl j s equally drehded,/his
soft plumage permitting him to fly about their roosting-place without a sound, ffike;;fsome midnight sprite. Any unusual object
attracting the attention of the gobbler seems ip:¡throw him into a state o f considerable excitement, and he puffs himself up very
much in the same manner as when strutting, and the wattles which cover his neck become bright red from the sudden influx- of
blood. Sometimes a red cloth Will excite his anger and cause him to exhibit pugnacious propensities. Many are the means
employed to obtain possession of these birds, some of which are too often eminently successful. Numbers- are trapped; sometimes
whole flocks are captured a t one time in pens constructed for that purpose. The average weight of a male o f this splendid
species is about fifteen to eighteen pounds, and the female from nine to ten. Some »gobblers have been known to . weigh much
more than this estimate ;1 and instances are not wanting when individuals Have been obtained weighing thirty arid forty, pounds each!;
but these are rare. When full-grown, the male ®jil measure four ¡feet in length, and nearly five feet §§ f the stretch o f its wings.
The Turkey.is very sharp-sighted, and nothing escapes its keen eye. The following account from the ‘ American Naturalist,’ by
Mr. J . D. Caton, is a good illustration of the ability of this bird .. to - perceive.. danger a t handG-AGn December 1847 I was
hunting deer on the Vermilion River, and had been following one from daylight until three o’clock in :flie'afternoon, over the breaks
and bluffs of the Vermilion River, through six inches ipf dry hard Snow, almost as difficult to walk in as dry corn-meal. When near
the foot of the-bluff, not far below the mouth *of Deer Park, some distance off, I saw a flock of wild Turkeys crossing the river
on the ice, and coming directly towardsSme. / My ambition immediately fell from a Deer to a Turkey; I concealed myself in a
very dense thicket o f underbrush, and soon heard the Turkeys approaching with that- quit; quit in which they frequently give
expression to«a happy sense .o f security. My. pointer, which was .as good a t‘ following, a De er as a Grouse, stood at my feet
without moving a muscle, though his eyes ¿hone, like b alls'o f fire when he sw n t e d ^ lT a r k e y s : and heard them pass by. They
passed, I should judge by the noise, not more than fifty or. sixty feet from me,/1 without taking t l i i least alarm. About fifty yards
distant there was a bare spot of considerable extent, near the brow of the bluff, to which their course: would evidently take them,
where I promised myself a sure shot. ¡.I rested my gun ^against a small tree th at I might m a k e u p perceptible motion before
firing. All but my . head and arms .we^er concealed by « h e% s h c $ . even from the elevated position'.where ' I expected they would
comet in sig h t; and from an observation on a level with- myself.I was entirely concealed. I thus stood anxiously listening to the
birds, and so was enabled to notice their progress, and/thus determine at what moment to expect their appearance in the open
space. The first that appeared was the head and neck of the old cock that led the flock. It seemed as if lie raised his head
for the express purpose o f looking at me, f o r / t h e instant his head appeared he stared." fixedly- towards me, and gave the loud
quick note of alarm. In a second or two he took wing, followed by the rest of-the flock. I still think he was in a little doubt;
else he would not have remained an instant after seeing me; and when he did fly, instead of .going directly away, he passed near
enough over me to satisfy his doubts. The eyes o f the Turkey are so situated as to embrace within the range of vision a very
large field. Here we see the sight was very quick, if not absolutely certain. Although they had passed very near us, the sense
of smell had given them no intimation of onr presence.”
The naked skin of * e > ^ e a d i s blue,! with the fta tle e f e d . | | | i . . f e a t h e r s t h e !ne|i,an<!; -body generally a r e l S
coppery bronze, changing in some lights .to a greenish or purplish shade, and margined with an opaque-lme The
hack and rump are also black, with little reflected lights, while the sides, together with, die upper and under tail-coverts, are dark
chestoiipharred m th jh la ck near thersenifcand having metallic reflections; of a rich purplish I f f while th e ! extreme tip are
opaque purplish chestnut.. The teil-feathers are dark chestnut, barred w ith !W W , and tipped.with lig Near the- end
is a band of black, broadest on the outer feathers, and narrowing as it approaches the central ones. Between the bars on the
feathers is a.confused sprinkling of black.: Neither upon the; tail A a r .its pm w ts is there any white. From th e 'c e n tre o f th e
breast hangs a long, coarse, hairy tuft. Rill and legs red.
The female differs chiefly in its smaller size, less brilliant colouring, and absence o f spur and wattle a t the base of the bill.