34 



THE OOLOGIST 



were barbarously piipched ia both ends 

 and strung upon a string to ornament the 

 parlor, or wliat is more likely, to be ad- 

 mired in one moment and cast to the earth 

 in another, -we are informed that the find- | 

 ing ot" a bird's nest was regarded as an i 

 heroic and euviable enterprise, and he wlio 

 ibund the rarest birds' nests was entitled 

 to credit as the most succesful bird's 

 e^^ hunter. It was not necessary that any 

 of tlie collectors should be naturalists ; 

 indeed, but few of them were, and the 

 strings of eggs gathered one week were ^ 

 frequently ibrgotteu the next. Fortunately | 

 the time of stringed eggs has passed away, [ 

 and a generation of close observers and j 

 growing naturalists have gradually replac- ' 

 ed the rambling curiosity huuters of other 

 years. | 



The Chat's nest is built of straws, gras- 

 ses and roots, twined together usually 

 quite loosely. It is placed ia a low bush, 

 on the outskirts of a wood, or frequently 

 in the garden. It is not large, measuring 

 about 1 1-4 inches iu depth and 5 inches 

 in external diameter. The eggs are usu- 

 ally four, sometimes five. Their ground 

 color is white or whitish, and over this 

 are sprinkled many fiue dots of reddish 

 aiid brownish, accumulated about the larg- 

 er end in most cas.es, in others scattered 

 pretty evenly all over. In shape they are 

 ovoidal are somewhat glossy and rather 

 strong. Three specimens, representing 

 the average size, measure respectively, .GG 

 by .85, .GG by .90 and .G4by .98 inch. 



The Mexican Turkey. 



\_3Ieleagris 3Iexlca)ia — Gould.~\ 



BY V. M. riROR. 



TI/^HAT I shall write on the probable or- 

 ^ ^ igin of our domestic Turkey is from an 

 acquaintance both with Melcagris Gallo- 

 pavo of Linneus, as found in the moun- 

 tains of Va., and the Wild Turkey of 

 Gould, foimd on the lower peninsula of 

 Florida. 31. 3Iexicana. That they are 



specifically different I believe, and, that 

 the Gould's Turkey of the South, is more 

 like oiu* domestic turkey is certain. The 

 skin of the head and the carunculation of 

 the Southern bird is red, whilst in the 

 more Northern bird it is blue. The Car- 

 riage, too, diifers as much as between our 

 domestic turkey and the Northern wild 

 one. The blue head carries more upright, 

 than the wild red head of the South, espec- 

 ially observable iu running, the head is car- 

 ried very high by the blue and horizontally 

 with the b(xly by the red head. I\Iy im- 

 pression also is that the whitish tip of tail 

 prevails in the Southern wild turkey, 

 which is not the case with the wild turkey 

 of Virginia and Northward. But in the 

 domestic turkey, however changed by do- 

 mesticity it mostly shows the light colored 

 terminal band on the tail : which goes 

 strongly to define its paternity with the 

 Soutiiern v/ild turkey. The flesh also in 

 the red headed wild turkey is white like 

 our domestic turkey, whilst the flesh of the 

 blue head wild bird is darker. Maj. Le- 

 Conte thiuks the wild turkey of our 

 mountains is not susseptible of domestica.- 

 tion and that it will not breed in confine- 

 meut. In this however, I think he is 

 mistaken, although, I do not think our 

 wild turkey of Virginia as yielding to do- 

 mesticity as the wild bird of the semi-trop- 

 ics. The Mexican wild turkey is a broad- 

 er bird than the mountain wild turkey, and 

 more bronze, I think, iu feathers. The 

 Northern wild turkey is quite dark, nearly 

 black. Taking all that I have observed 

 iu the two wild turkies of the North and 

 South, I have concurred iu belief with 

 several Naturalists, who regard the two as 

 specifically distinct ; and that the South- 

 ern or red head is the common progenitor 

 of the domestic turkey, which by all prob- 

 ability was carried to Europe by the Span- 

 iards from the Southern species about the 

 year 1520, as is thought to be the state of 

 their advent to Europe, and likely from 

 thence back again in a domestic state as 

 we now find them. 

 Charlestown, W. Va. 



