INTRODUCTION. 7 
which traded with the Levant. It is strangely different in 
aspect from the Guinea-fowls and the Pheasants, though the 
fleshy process above the beak and that on the throat remind us 
slightly of the Tragopans, or the Fowls with their combs and 
wattles. 
The Turkey of Central America (Meleagris ocellata) is one of 
Fig. 3. 

The Crested Guinea-fowl (Numida cristata). 
the most gorgeous of all Birds, from the brilliant metallic lustre 
of its plumage of blue and green and other tints and colours. 
The Common Turkey was once widely distributed over the 
more Southern region of the United States, and, not long ago 
at the least, was plentiful in the valleys of the Mississippi and 
Missouri. Franklin recommended the adoption of the Bird 
