JIDtctuJiian) at &iumatcft jtature. 709 



towards the end of the feathers ; some are 

 black and white ; others perfectly white ; 

 there is also a beautiful variety of a fine 

 deep copper colour, with the greater quills 

 pure white, and the tail of a dirty white ; 

 but in all of them the tuft of block hair on 

 the breast is prevalent. The young males [ 

 do not put out the tuft on the breast till they 

 are about three years old. Great numbers 

 are bred in Norfolk, Suffolk, and other | 

 counties, whence they are driven to the ] 

 London markets in flocks of several hun- 

 dreds. The drivers manage them with fa- ! 

 cility, by means of a bit of red rag tied to a j 

 long rod, which, from the antipathy these ] 

 birds bear to that colour, effectually drives 

 them forward. The females lay their eggs j 

 in the spring, generally in a retired and 

 obscure place, as the male will often break 

 them. They are usually from fourteen to 

 eighteen in number, white mixed with red- 

 dish or yellow freckles : the female sits with 

 so much perseverance, that if fresh eggs be 

 introduced into the nest immediately upon 

 the young being hatched, she will long con- 

 tinue the business of incubation ; but in this 

 climate she has seldom more than one hatch 

 in a season. Young Turkeys require great 

 ! care in rearing, being subject to a variety of 

 | diseases from cold, rain, and dews ; but as 

 soon as they are sufficiently strong, the hen 

 abandons them entirely, and they are ca- 

 pable of enduring the utmost rigour of our 

 winters. 



The motions of the male, when agitated 

 with desire, or inflamed with rage, are very 

 similar to those of the Peacock : he erects 

 his tail, and spreads it like a fan, whilst his 

 wings droop and trail on the ground, and 

 he utters at the same time a dull, hollow 

 sound ; he struts round and round with a 

 solemn pace, assumes all the dignity of the 

 most majestic of birds, and every now and 

 then bursts out abruptly into a most un- 

 musical gurgle. The familiar name of this 

 bird, it is said, originated in an erroneous 

 idea that it originally came from Turkey. 



The OCELLATED TURKEY. (MfJcagria 

 occllata. ) This magnificent species is a native 

 of Honduras, whence it has been brought 

 alive to this country and preserved in the 

 aviary of the Earl of Derby. It is a much 

 more splendid bird than the common Turkey, 

 and among other characters may be distin- ; 

 guished by the eye-like marks on the tail and ' 

 upper coverts. 



TURKEY BUZZARD. (Cathartcs aura.) ' 

 This is a rapacious bird belonging to the 

 Vnlturu'ue family, and often called the 

 TURKEY VULTURE. It inhabits a vast range 

 of territory in the warmer parts of the Ame- 

 rican continent, but in the northern and 

 middle states of the Union it is partially 

 migratory, the greater part retiring to the 

 south on the approach of cold weather. The 

 Turkey Buzzard is two feet and a half in 

 length, nnd with wings extended upwards of 

 six feet in breadth. The bill from the 

 corner of the mouth is almost two inches 

 and a half long, of a dark horn colour for 

 upwards of an inch from the tip, the nostril 

 a remarkably wide slit or oppnujg through 



it : the tongue is concave, cartilaginous, and 

 finely serrated on its edges ; eyes dark, and 

 bright ; the head and neck are furnished 

 with a reddish wrinkled skin, l>eset with 

 short black hairs ; from the hind head to the 

 neck feathers the space is covered with down 

 of a sooty black colour ; the fore part of the 

 neck is bare as far as the breast-bone, the 

 skin on the lower part or pouch very much 

 wrinkled, but is not discernible without re- 

 moving the plumage which arches over it ; 

 the whole lower parts, lining of the wings, 

 rump, and tail-coverts, are of a sooty brown ; 

 the plumage of the neck is large and tumid, 

 and, with that of the back and shoulders, 

 black ; the scapulars and secondaries arc 

 black on their outer webs, skirted with 

 brown, and the latter slightly tipped with 

 white ; primaries plain brown : coverts of 

 the secondaries tawny brown, centred with 



black. The tail is twelve inches long, 

 rounded, and of a brownish black ; inside of 

 wings and tail, light ash. The whole body 

 and neck beneath the plumage are thickly 

 clothed with a white down ; the plumage of 

 the neck, back, shoulders, scapulars, and 

 secondaries, is glossed with green and bronze, 

 and has purple reflections ; the thighs arc 

 feathered to the knees ; feet considerably 

 webbed ; middle toe three inches and a half 

 in length ; claws dark horn colour ; legs 

 pale fle>h colour. 



Much contention has arisen between cer- 

 tain naturalists with respect to the olfactory 

 powers possessed hy this bird ; and there are 

 some very nmusing strictures on this subject 

 in Mr. Watcrton's Essays, in which the 

 writer i who is a warm advocate for its ex- 

 istence in a high degree) seems to have by 

 fur the best of the argument. It appears, 

 however, that their food is carrion, in search 

 after which they are always soaring in the 

 air. They continue a long time on the wing, 

 and with an easy swimming motion mount 

 and fall, without any visible motion of their 

 wings. They have a wonderful sagacity (says 

 Cateshy) in smelling ; no sooner is there a 

 dead beast, but they are seen approaching 

 from all quarters of the air, wheeling about 

 and gradually descending and drawing nigh 

 their prey, till at length they fall upon it. 



