476 



THE HONDURAS TURKEY 



and forming a long, fleshy protuberance, hanging from the base of the bill and having a tuft 

 of hairs at its tip. This excrescence is capable of elongation under excitement. There is also 

 a long tuft of strong black hairs hanging from the junction of the neck and breast. The general 

 color of the plumage is very beautiful, gleaming with golden bronze, banded with black, and 

 " shot" with violet, green, and blue. In total length this bird measures about four feet. 



THE splendid HONDURAS TURKEY is even a more magnificent bird than the preceding 

 species. It is found, as its name imports, in the wooded districts of Honduras and Yucatan. 



Two specimens of this splendid bird, a male and female, were brought to aviaries ; and 

 I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. T. W. Wood for the following short account of its 

 habits while in a state of captivity, I being at the time unable, through ill health, to visit the 



HONDURAS TURKEY. Meleagrb oeeUuM. 



aviaries: "In the spring, the male became highly excited and stalked about with his tail 

 spread, wings drooping, and all his feathers puffed up, looking as if he would burst with 

 pride. At such a time his head was thrown back so far and his breast-feathers projecting so 

 far that he could not observe the ground beneath him, and consequently he often stepped into 

 the water, much to his annoyance and the visitor's amusement." 



The coloring of this bird is peculiarly fine. The naked skin of the head and neck is 

 delicate violet-blue, covered with a number of round, pea-like knobs, arranged in a cluster 

 upon the crown and of a pale buff-orange, a row over the eye, and others scattered about the 

 neck without any particular arrangement. The wattle hanging from the base of the neck is 

 light orange at its tip. The skin round the eyes and the knobs on the neck are carmine. The 

 hairy tuft on the breast is not seen in this species. The feathers are finely webbed, rounded, 

 and scale-like, and their colors are truly splendid. On the lower part of the neck and upper 



