104 OUR I OMESTIC FOT\T.S. 



of the wlulisli band on the tail-coverts, and 

 the band at the top of the tail is neither so 

 wide nor so purely white. 



The female wild turkey is far inferior in size 

 to the male ; she is adult and in full colouring 

 at four years' old, and then possesses the pec- 

 toral tuft of hair, of about four inches in length. 

 Her weight is from nine to ten pounds, but 

 the male varies from fifteen to twenty pounds 

 in weight. Birds of thirty pounds are not 

 rare ; and instances have occurred, of their 

 weight being thirty-six, and even forty pounds. 

 In April and May, the males are thin, and out 

 of condition ; yet C. L. Bonaparte notices a 

 specimen killed on the Missouri in April, which 

 weighed twenty-two pounds, but which, when 

 in good condition, must have exceeded thirty. 

 The male wild turkey may be regarded as ma- 

 ture at the age of between three and four years, 

 but, for several years afterwards, increases in 

 weight and the metallic lustre of the 

 plumage. 



It is much to be regretted that the wholesale 

 destruction to which this noble bird is sub- 

 jected throughout the whole extent of its 

 range, tends every year to diminish its num- 

 bers, insomuch that in a comparatively short 



