THE MEXICAN TURKEY. 117 



28 poiinds, after being drawn, and I have been infonned tliat birds imicli 

 heavier than this one are killed occasionally; which I can readily Ijelieve, 

 as I have seen tracks of this subspecies along the Ijanks of the San Pedrf) 

 River, in Arizona, measuring between 5 and C inches in length, and un- 

 questionably made by a much larger bird than the one killed by me. 



Mr. Herbert Brown, of Tucson, Arizona, writes me as follows: "I have 

 seen many of these Turke}'s, a few in Arizona, and I believe thousands in 

 Mexico. Without knowing it positively, I am of the belief that they raise 

 two broods of young a season, as I have seen almost all sizes in the 

 masting season (October) when they congregate in large numbers in the 

 canons to feed on hallofes, a small bitter acorn, common to the canons and 

 parks of southern Arizona and southward. I have seen their roosting places 

 at night, in sycamore (Al/sa) trees; I also saw one in an oak grove on the 

 side of a hill, but they appeal- more to favor the canons. On the head- 

 waters of the Santa Dominga I have seen not less than iifty or sixty in a 

 l)unch, and Turke}', in those days, was a common camp fare. I have been 

 -told by Mexicans that coyotes catch Turkeys by running in circles under 

 their roosting trees, till the birds get dizzy with watching them, and fall 

 down. I never saw it done, but have been assured that it is a fact. 



"This Turkey is (juite alnmdant in the Sierra Ancha, about 130 miles 

 northeast of Tucson, and can be found to a greater or less extent in every 

 timbered range between here and there. One morning while camped in a 

 box canon in Souora, southeast of the Sierra Azul, I counted thirty-four 

 Turkeys flying over, at another time six, and quite frequently three and 

 four. Times were not so peaceful then as now, and whenever the Turkeys 

 appeared to fly wild, we would he on the lookout for Apache Indians." 



Capt. William L. ('arpcntcr, Ninth Int^mtrv, U. S. Armv, writes me as 

 follows: "This bird is cpiite numerous in the White ^fountains, Arizona. 

 I never succeeded in tinding tlie nest, l)ut collected young, able to fly a few 

 feet, on Black River, Arizona, July 1. Their crops contained grasshoppers 

 and leaves. Later in the season acorns, jiiniper berries, and pine nuts funiish 

 food. It appears to be stronger on the wing than the eastei-n Turkey and 

 more ready to resort to long flights for safetv, frequentlv alighting in trees 

 for concealment; also, not so readily decoyed by calling." 



The mating season commences according to latitude, from March 1 to 

 the middle of April, by Avliich time some of the birds commence nesting. 



Mr. William Lloyd states: ''In 1S81, I found many of tht-ir roosts in 

 western Texas; these birds could be seen by hundreds in the Xueces Canon 

 near Uvalde; they were equally common in the Frio Canon and the valleys 

 of the Llano and Concho, east to the Colorado River. They mated from 

 the fir.st to the end of March, according to the weather, and would then 

 seek dense brush. 



"Near a river their nests would be made on small islets surrounded by 

 reeds; on the hills in shin oak clum])s. Their principal food Itciug acorns, 



