WILD? TURKEY. D5 
Although they seem to become attached to a par- 
ticular locality and rarely stray far from it, yet the birds 
wander a good deal, especially when gathered together 
in flocks of any size. A stream of considerable width, 
lying in their course, proves an obstacle to their farther 
progress perhaps for several days, during which time the 
males strut and gobble as if encouraging the young and 
themselves to undertake the passage. At length they 
mount to the highest branches overhanging the banks, 
and launch themselves out over the water, and fly for the 
opposite shore. Should any fail to make the bank and 
fall into the water, they spread their tails and swim to 
land if the distance be not too great. The call note of 
the Wild Turkey, both the gobble of the male, and the 
low, soft call of the female, is very like that of the domes- 
tic bird, and although there are slight differences, it 
would take a Turkey itself, or the well-trained ear of an 
expert, to distinguish them. The food of this bird con- 
sists of nuts of various kinds, acorns, such as grow on 
the different species of oaks; chestnuts, pecan nuts, seeds 
of many sorts, berries, grapes, insects, and grain. They 
are very fond of grasshoppers, and it is said that a flock 
of Turkeys will so systematically traverse and explore a 
field, that it will be entirely cleared of these insects in a 
brief period. Turkeys do not migrate in the strict sense 
of the term, but when food grows scarce from any cause 
in one section of the country, they naturally will move on, 
seeking a better land. Tor this reason Turkeys may at 
times be scarce in localities usually favorable for them, 
and to which they have been accustomed to resort in 
numbers, and again other districts, where they have not 
been especially abundant, will, from an excess of food 
supply, suddenly contain large flocks of these birds. 
They will return, however, to their usual haunts as soon 
