THE TURKEYS. IO5 



when they congregate in large numbers in the cafions to feed 

 on ballotes^ 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 {Alisd) trees ; I also saw 

 one in an oak grove on the side of a hill, but they appear more 

 to favour the canons. On the head-waters of the Santa 

 Dominga I have seen not less than fifty or sixty in a bunch, 

 and Turkey, 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 tree 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." 



" The mating-season," writes Captain Bendire, "commences, 

 according to latitude, from March ist to the middle of April, 

 by which time some of the birds commence nesting. 



"They are summer residents in the higher mountain ranges, 

 reaching an altitude of from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, and retiring 

 to the more sheltered canons and the timbered river valleys 

 in the late fall, congregating at such times in large flocks. 



"The Mexican Turkey, like the Eastern species, is poly- 

 gamous, and the female attends exclusively to the duties of 

 incubation, which lasts about four weeks, the male not only 

 not assisting, but, according to observations made by Lieut. 

 J. M. F. Partello, Fifth Infantry, U.S. Army, often destroying 

 the eggs and the tender young." 



Nest. — No doubt similar to that of the sub-species M, ellioii^ 

 which is described below. 



Eggs. — Creamy-white, spotted and dotted over the entire 

 shell with reddish-brown. Average measurements, 27 by 19 

 inches. 



SUB-SP. a. Elliot's turkey, meleagris elliotl 



Meleagris gallopavo ellioii^ Sennett, Auk, 1892, p. 167, pi. 

 iii, 



