S^ AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



he is ])y no means as quarrelsome as his feral congener, 

 the latter being one of the most pugnacious of creatures. 



It Avas probably on this account that Benjamin Frank- 

 lin considered that the turkey, and not the eagle, ought 

 to have been selected as the emblem of the United States, 

 for, besides being a true native of America, he considered 

 that it was also a more useful animal than the monarch 

 of the air, and, though somewhat vain and silly, that it 

 had the courage to face a grenadier of the British Guards 

 if he entered the farm-yard witli a red coat on his back. 

 The wild bird would not, however, attack a child who 

 displayed that disagreeable hue, as it is too much afraid of 

 enemies to attack anything having the semblance of man- 

 kind. It is so wary that it is very difficult of approach in 

 the daytime, but, by watching its movements, it may be 

 caught on its jierch on moonlight nights. It generally 

 roosts high ujd on the trees, and, if the flocks are to- 

 gether, a dozen or two may be found on one tree. Like 

 all the gallinaceous birds of the American Continent, it 

 fancies itself secure when once it gets amidst the foliage, 

 and may remain on its perch even when its deadliest foe 

 is walking beneath. It is said that a flock can be killed 

 on a roost, if the lower ones are shot first, but I have 

 never seen this done, though I have seen five bagged 

 before the remainder decided to seek safety in flight. 



Notwithstanding the extreme cautiousness and vigi- 

 lance of these birds, many are shot annually by men Avho 

 know their habits. The favorite method with experi- 

 enced hunters is to lie in ambush and call the males 

 towards them by imitating the notes of the female. This 

 is done with the mouth, or by making a call out of the 

 small bone of a turkey's wing, or out of brass or wood. 

 The number who can call well with the vocal organs 

 alone is small indeed, as it requires long practice and a 

 close study of the various intonations of the hens to 

 imitate them, yet I have known men who could cluck, 



