*- TURKEY RAISING 

 The Wild Turkey 



The species of wild turkey which occurred in this range 

 is divided into four varieties. These varieties consist of 

 the common or Eastern wild turkey, the Florida wild tur- 

 key, the Rio Grande wild turkey and the Mexican or Mer- 

 riam's turkey. The common or Eastern wild turkey ex- 

 tended over the eastern part of the United States from 

 Maine to Florida and in the large swamps of the gulf 

 states to Louisiana. The Florida wild turkey is found 

 in southern Florida. The Rio Grande wild turkey has a 

 range extending over southern Texas and northwestern 

 Mexico, while the Mexican or Merriam's turkey is found 

 in the mountains of Arizona, western New Mexico and 

 southern Colorado, south into Mexico. 



The common or Eastern wild turkey, the Rio Grande 

 wild turkey and the Florida wild turkey are all quite simi- 

 lar in color in that they have a brilliant bronze plumage 

 and that the tips tc the tail coverts and main tail feathers 

 run from a yellowish to a deeper yellowish brown or cof- 

 fee color. In the Mexican wild turkey or Merriam's tur- 

 key, the plumage is of a much darker bronze which is 

 shaded with black, while the tips of the main tail feathers 

 and of the tail coverts are white instead of yellow or 

 brown. In respect to the white tips and to the general 

 darker cast of plumage, the Mexican wild turkey corre- 

 sponds more closely than does the common wild turkey 

 to our domesticated Bronze variety and gives support to 



