144 Handbook of Nature-Study 



The bronze breed resembles most closely our native wild turkey and is 

 therefore chosen for this lesson. The colors and markings of the plumage 

 form the bronze turkey's chief beauty. From the skin of the neck, reach- 

 ing half way to the middle of the back is a collar of glittering bronze with 

 greenish and purple iridescence, each feather tipped with a narrow jet 

 band. The remainder of the back is black except that each feather is 

 edged with bronze. The breast is like the collar and at its center is a 

 tassel of black bristles called the beard which hangs limply downward 

 when the birds are feeding; but when the gobbler stiffens his muscles to 

 strut, this beard is thrust proudly forth. Occasionally the hen turkeys 

 have a beard. The long quills, or primaries, of the wings are barred 

 across with bands of black and white; the secondaries are very dark, 

 luminous brown, with narrower bars of white. Each feather of the fan- 

 shaped tail is banded with black and brown and ends with a black bar 

 tipped with white; the tail coverts are lighter brown but also have the 

 black margin edged with white. The colors of the hen are like those of 

 the gobbler except that the bronze brilliance of breast, neck and wings is 

 dimmed by the faint line of white which tips each feather. 



The heads of all are covered with a warty wrinkled skin, bluish white 

 on the crown, grayish blue about the eyes, and the other parts red. 

 Beneath the throat is a hanging fold called the wattle, and above the beak 

 a fleshy pointed knob called the caruncle, which on the gobbler is pro- 

 longed so that it hangs over and below the beak. When the bird is angry 

 these carunculated parts swell and grow more vivid in color, seeming to 

 be gorged with blood. The color of the skin about the head is more exten- 

 sive and brilliant in the gobblers than in the hens. The beak is slightly 

 curved, short, stout, and sharp-pointed, yellowish at the tip and dark at 

 the base. 



The eyes are bright, dark hazel with a thin red line of iris. Just back 

 of the eye is the ear, seemingly a mere hole, and yet it leads to a very 

 efficient ear, upon which every smallest sound impinges. 



The legs of the young turkeys are nearly black, fading to a brownish 

 gray when mature. The legs and feet are large and stout, the middle 

 toe of the three front ones being nearly twice the length of the one on 

 either side ; the hind toe is the shortest of the four. On the inner side of 

 the gobbler's legs, about one-third the bare space above the foot, is a 

 wicked looking spur which is a most effective weapon. The wings are 

 large and powerful ; the turkey flies well for such a large bird and usually 

 roosts high, choosing trees or the ridge-pole of the barn for this purpose. 



In many ways the turkeys are not more than half domesticated. They 

 insistently prefer to spend their nights out of doors instead of under a 

 roof. They are also great wanderers and thrive best when allowed to 

 forage in the fields and woods for a part of their food. 



The gobbler is the most vainglorious bird known to us; when he struts 

 to show his flock of admiring hens how beautiful he is, he lowers his wings 

 and spreads the stiff primary quills until their tips scrape the ground, lift- 

 ing meanwhile into a semi-circular fan his beautiful tail feathers; he pro- 

 trudes his chest, raises the iridescent plumage of his neck like a ruff to 

 make a background against which he throws back his red, white and blue 

 decorated head. He moves forward with slow and mincing steps and 

 calls attention to his grandeur by a series of most aggressive "gobbles." 

 But we must say for the gobbler that although he is vain he is also a brave 



