THE WILD TURKEY 287 
From the wild turkey of the East, Merriam’s turkey 
may be distinguished by the whitish tips of the feath- 
ers of the lower rump, tail coverts and tail. From the 
Mexican turkey it may be known by its velvety black 
rump and the greater amount of rusty rufous, succeed- 
ing white tips on the tail coverts and tail, and by the 
distinct black and chestnut barring of the middle tail 
feathers. 
Merriam’s turkey thus appears to be about mid- 
way between the eastern wild turkey and the wild tur- 
key of Mexico, and in fact the eastern wild turkey 
grades into Merriam’s turkey, as Merriam’s turkey 
grades into the Mexican turkey, whose white-tipped 
tail coverts and white-tipped tail, as seen in the do- 
mestic turkey, are so characteristic. 
So in North America we have five forms of turkey, 
the ranges of which are fairly well defined. 
The Florida wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo 
osceola), described by Scott about twenty years ago, 
is confined to Florida, but the precise limits of its range 
are not yet known. The type specimen came from 
Tarpon Springs, Fla. 
The Rio Grande turkey (Meleagris gallopavo inter- 
media) was described by the late George B. Sennett 
in 1892. It is a striking bird, found in the lowlands 
of southern Texas and also in northeastern Mexico, 
where it ranges from the coast lowlands up to over 
3,000 feet in the adjacent mountains. 
Merriam’s turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriamt) 
was described by E. W. Nelson in 1900. It ranges 
