174 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
The young are very delicate little things and a wetting 
is almost certainly fatal, and it is a wonder how the 
mother is able to raise as many as she does. Certainly 
the task before her is no light one, to guard and protect 
her brood against the elements as well as all her furred, 
feathered, and scaly enemies, always on the alert for such 
a desirable morsel as a chicken turkey. In the early 
spring at break of day the gobblers are heard calling 
from some favored roost in the forest. At such times 
they are exceedingly watchful and suspicious, and the 
least glimpse of a hunter, or frequently the breaking of 
a stick under foot, will cause them to fly at once, and 
it is rare for them to return to the vicinity of that place 
again during the day. The hens attend these trysting 
places, and should two gobblers meet they fight desper- 
ately, as they are very jealous and ready at all times to 
defend their fancied prerogatives. Many are shot at this 
season, as the birds are accustomed to resort to the same 
roost at night, and when this has been discovered, the 
hunter either goes near to it during the night and waits 
for the dawn and light enough to see the sights of his 
gun, or makes a stealthy stalk until within shot, after 
the break of day. One brood is raised in a season, but 
a hen may lay a second complement of eggs, if from any 
mishap the first clutch has been lost. The eggs are 
creamy white, finely spotted with reddish brown. At 
the end of the nesting season the males separate from the 
females and keep by themselves, reuniting again when 
they have recovered their pristine vigor. The females 
lead their young where they can catch insects and such 
other food as is suitable for them, and each family keeps 
apart until the young are fairly well-grown, and then 
several may join together, their number at length being 
augmented by the returning males. 
