WILD TURKEY. 175 



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. For 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 



