MELEAGBIIXE. XLVIII. 117 



OEDEB L.- 



(The Gallinaceous Birds.) 



Bill short, stout, convex, horny, not constricted; nostrils 

 scaled or feathered, cutting edge of upper mandible over- 

 lapping. Head often partly or wholly naked, sometimes 

 with fleshy processes. Legs moderate, stout; hind toe 

 elevated (excepting in Cracidce, etc.), smaller than the 

 other toes, sometimes wanting. Tarsus broadly scutellate 

 (sometimes feathered), occasionally spurred in the males; 

 claws blunt, not much curved. Wings short, strong, con- 

 cave; tail various, sometimes wanting, often immensely 

 developed. Precocial, often polygamous. 



A large order comprising the various kinds of domesti- 

 cated fowl as well as the chief game birds of most 

 countries. 



FAMILY XLVIII. MELEAGRIDJE. 



(The Turkeys.) 



Large birds, with the head and neck unfeathered, 

 covered with scattered hairs, and more or less caruncu- 

 late. Bill moderate; nostrils bare; forehead with an 

 elongate fleshy process. Tarsus spurred in male; hind 

 toe elevated. Tail nearly as long as wing, truncate, of 

 more than twelve feathers. Breast of male mostly with 

 a tuft of long bristles. Genus one; species two. M. 

 ocellatus, of tropical America, and the common Turkey. 



/. MELEAGRIS, Linnaeus. TURKEYS. 



1. M. gallopavo, L. WILD TURKEY. Glossy, coppery 

 black; L. 48; W. 21; T. 18J. Canada to Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and south to Mexico, becoming extinct eastwards. 

 The domestic Turkey is descended from a Mexican 

 variety. 



