62 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



Each flock has a leader, who seems to control all its movements. At night- 

 fall he selects a tall tree with suitable branches, and after finding a comfortable 

 place for himself, his companions fly up one by one, until all are accommo- 

 dated. When frightened, the leader utters a short, quick cluck, and the whol^ 

 flock almost instantly disperses, each individual flying away to some distant 

 tree, where alighting, he remains awake until morning. They spend the day 

 upon the ground, where they find an abundance of food by scratching among 

 the leaves. The Golden Turkey is omnivorous, feasting alike on grass, grains, 

 fruits and insects. When in the fields he fills himself with corn, and is espe- 

 cially fond of the roots of the poison yucca, which is extensively cultivated 

 for starch. In the forests he prefers the fruit of the sapote, and is equally 

 delighted to find a nest of white ants, which he devours with avidity. 



About the middle of May, the female builds her nest. She generally se- 

 lects the to]! of a fallen tree, or other thicket, where she is safe from the ja- 

 guars and cougars. A slight excavation is first made in the ground, then a 

 few small sticks and leaves are so loosely placed in and about it as scarcely 

 to deserve the name of nest. When completed, the eggs appear, and as the 

 days come and go the number increases until the nest contains from eight to 

 sixteen. In size, shape and markings, these so closely resemble the eggs of 

 the domesticated turkey that a description of them would be unnecessary. 

 If frightened from the nest, the female never returns; but when unmolested, 

 and the young chicks are all hatched, she becomes very bold, and will fight 

 for her young even at the risk of her own life. 



The Golden Turkey is much hunted by the natives of Central America for 

 its fine flesh, so that at the present rate of extermination this beautiful bird 

 must ere long become extinct. All attempts to domesticate it have failed, as 

 well for the native as for the foreigner who has experimented with it. In 

 1879, while in southeastern Yucatan, I purchased more than'two hundred of 

 these eggs from the Indians. About half of 'the eggs were given to tame tur- 

 key hens to hatch, others were placed under common bens, while still others 

 were hatched by artificial heat. Almost every egg hatched, and the young 

 chicks for a time thrived and looked well. The ones hatched in the house 

 first refused to eat, drooped their wings, and one by one all died. The broods 

 were then distributed among the best Indian families, where I visited them 

 occasionally; and although well cared for, before they were half grown all 

 had died but six. These were the survivors of a brood of twelve, which had 

 been let run at large with an old turkey hen. They lived in the woods, and 

 became very shy. In the summer of 1881 these were taken to Tamax, a dis- 

 tance of about fifty leagues, where two of them soon died. The other four 

 were again set free with their foster-mother ; and before they became accus- 

 tomed to the place, two of the four went to the woods and never returned. 

 The other two I brought to New York in July, 1881, where they were sold 

 to Messrs. Chas. Richie & Brother. 



