96 THE TURKEY. 



and suffers it to pass. They seldom abandon their nests 

 on account of being discovered by man; but should a 

 snake or other animal suck one of the eggs, the parent 

 leaves them altogether. If the eggs be removed, she again 

 seeks the male, and re-commences laying, though otherwise 

 she lays but one set of eggs during the season. Several 

 turkey-hens sometimes associate, perhaps for mutual 

 safety, deposite their eggs in the same nest, and rear their 

 broods together. Mr. Audubon once found three females 

 sitting on forty-two eggs. In such cases the nest is com- 

 monly guarded by one of the parties, so that no crow, raven, 

 or even polecat, dares approach it. The mother will not 

 forsake her eggs when near hatching, while life remains : 

 she will surfer an enclosure to be made around, and im- 

 prison her, rather than abandon her charge. 



As the hatching generally occurs in the afternoon, and 

 proceeds but slowly, the first night is commonly spent in 

 the nest ; but afterwards the mother leads them to elevated 

 dry places, as if aware that humidity, during the first few 

 days of their life, would be dangerous to them, they having 

 then no other protection than a delicate, soft, hairy down. 

 In rainy seasons wild turkeys are scarce, because when 

 completely wetted the young rarely survive. At the expi- 

 ration of about two weeks the young follow their mother 

 to some low, large branch of a tree, where they nestle un- 

 der her broadly- curved wings. The time then approaches 

 when they seek the open ground or prairie land during the 

 day, in search of berries and grasshoppers, thus securing 

 a plentiful supply of food, and enjoying the genial influence 

 of the sun. The young turkeys now grow rapidly, and in 

 the month of August, when several broods flock together, 

 and are led by their mothers into the forest, they are stout, 

 and able to secure themselves from the unexpected attack 

 of their enemies, by rising quickly from the ground, and 

 reaching with ease the upper limbs of the tallest trees. 



