THE TURKEY FAMILY 



THE WILD TURKEY 

 {Meleagris sylvestris) 



Adult male — Plumage of body glittering with a metallic lustre, 

 showing bronzy gold, green, and red, in changing lights, each 

 feather banded at tip with velvety black ; secondaries, bronzy 

 green, barred with grayish, or buffy white ; primaries, black, 

 conspicuously barred with white ; rump, blackish, with purplish 

 gloss ; upper tail-coverts, rich chestnut, shot with metallic red 

 and barred with black ; tail, chestnut, barred and vermiculated 

 with black, a broad black band near tip, all the feathers tipped 

 with rich buff; head and neck, red, almost naked, there being 

 some scattering black bristles; from the centre of the breast 

 hangs a tuft of long, stiff black bristles of varying lengths ; 

 legs, red ; spurs, dark horn ; bill, reddish horn. Total length, 

 about four feet; wing, 21 inches; tail, 19; weight, varying 

 from about fifteen to about forty pounds. The female usually 

 is much smaller and lacks the bristles on the breast; the plu- 

 mage is subdued in tone with but little metallic sheen. Range, 

 from Pennsylvania to the Gulf States, except Florida ; west- 

 ward, to Wisconsin, south to Texas. Haunts, forested districts- 

 The downy young are pretty, delicate little things, yellowish 

 buff with darker markings on the upper parts — exactly like the 

 young of the domestic bronze turkey. 



The complete history of this truly noble bird 

 would fill a book much larger than this volume. 

 Formerly abundant throughout its range, the 

 great flocks have dwindled to a beggarly remnant 

 which can only be saved from final destruction 



248 



