wide feathers; it is capable of. being, expanded and elevated, together
.with the superior tail .^coverts-,‘iso. as A), resemble a fan, when the bird
parades, struts#©®- .wheels'.•. '‘The.Jtaiiids ferruginous, .mottled .with
.black, and crossed.by.numerous narrow, undulated lines, oftthe same
colour, which become confused o n the middle feathers; .near the tip
is..a.broad blaek<band, then the feathers.are again mottled.for a short
. distance, . and are widely tipped with ferruginous-y eHo W;
Tlie .feet are robust and somewhat elongated; the.tarsus measures
more than s fin c h e s .in Jength, being'cohered before by large alter-
ihate pentagonal plates, .and .furnished, on the inner posterior- side,
•i^jth.a rather obtuse, robi^l?j-C0Hi,p'Ees$ed#s^ttr,'inearly '«iSjedhch Jong.
The: toes , ate' three before,-.connected at base by a .membrane, and
ofte behind, touching the ground onjjfjat tip, being articulated higher
on.the tarsus than the.others, undsone half shorter-than jijtey lateral
toes, whichla^equal; .the middle.toe,is^ xhore than four inches Jong,
.and ther.posterior- but Jittle:more than«one.hohhrjj^hey;are all ’covered
: ||t entire plates; the sole is,'granulated: ^e.eQldur^f<7t^iileiit'!is;red>
the margins .of :the plates, and scales, the membrane, and:nails;being
blackish; the nailsjweoblong, wide,,obtuse?atttip, roumdedfabovw,
and perfectly plane beneath.-—
The.female,.or hen Turkey, is considerably sntaller in^fee^sbeing
three jfeet, and a quarter; long. The bill and fe et - resemble .those of
the . male, .'but are proportionally smaller, the' latter, being, destitute
of .even-aj-udiment of spur:; the irides are like .those oflithe :male%
The .head and, neck ar.e not so naked as in that sex, but.are.edvered
by. small, decomposed feathers, of .a dirty grayish jGoldur; .those; of
the back of the neck are .tipped with ferruginous,: constituting^ Jongh
tudinal vitta on that part;; the caruncle on the -frontlet is rudimental,
not .susceptible of being elongated; the pectoral appendage is entirely
wanting in our specimen. The general plumage is dusky-gray, each
leather having, a metallic band, .less brilliant^ than that of the male,
then, a blackish band, and a grayish terminal fringe; the black subterminal
band is .obsolete ,on .the feathers of the .neck, and of .the
whole inferior-surface^ those of the latter part, with the feathers of
the lower portion of the back, of the rump, and the flanks, have then-
tips yellowish-ferruginous^ becoming gradually brighter towards the
taifoff The^vent1 and r]®f|Bs. are dirty yellowish-gray, without any
reflections; the under taihGQvefis^a&eitipped, and varied with rather
deep ferruginous;, the' superior tail c’Overts are like those of the male,
bik duller;’ and tipped1 with a broad,--Whitish-ferruginous fringe.
®hdwings1 are also!'duller.,»!each cqveffebeing tipped with grayish;
legs white exists; oif; the primaries, the bands being narrower, and
thes>,secondaries entirely destitute of; them. > Théj tail is similar ip
colour to that; ofl thé male. It is proper to' remark, that the female
which furnished the abové description, and is figured in the plate,
though‘eérfcajnly adult, had* not attained; ,to its full'size and perfect
beauty. It was pfécujÉ&dsan the .'iiióBth of March; on St. John’s river,
Florida.
The ‘youngvóf both’js^xesl resemble each Otherf sof closely, before
the«nakedt membranfe a%qÉife^.its tinge of red, as td^beftsCarcely distinguishable^,
ahe* females, hdWdveid* when a few days old, are somewhat
larger than and havév a weaker piping note; the
males- then begin to' stand higher on? theiift leg$ which are stronger
than those ofejhe females,1 and1 * soon exhibit-the rudiments of spurs.
On the approach p#, the first ..winter, the young males- show a
rudiment of thetfeafd!\oiSi fascicle of hairs ofitthe breast, consisting of
a-mere tubercle, and attferrtpt to1 strut and gobble; the second year
thfe hairy tuft is-about three inches1 long; in.thd#third; the Turkey
attains its full stature, although it1 certainly increaéês in sfedj and
beauty for* several!; years loMgêrï1 In a Ible male-Specim'en; evidently
young, whichTobtained in the- Philadelphia market, the plumage is
equally brilliant with that of the finest1 adult, although the frontal
.caruncle is only one! iinph in'-length, the pectoral appendage two
inches, and the spur merely rudimental. T hé concealed portion of
the plumage on the anterior part of the back is sprinkled with pale
ferruginous, which disappears as the bird,advances in age.