224 THE WILD TURKEY. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE WILD TURKEY. 



MELEAGRIS GALLOPATO. 



Description. — Head small, flattened above, with a pendulous 

 caruncle on the foiehead ; bill short, slightly arched, rather 

 obtuse; neck bare and beset with a series of irregular ca- 

 runcles ; a tuft of long bristles pendant from the upper part 

 of the breast ; the body robust ; feet long and strong ; a 

 conical obtuse spur on the tarsus, about two-thirds do-svn ; 

 ^vino-s shortish, convex, and rounded ; tail long, ample, and 

 rounded, capable of being erected and expanded in a perma- 

 nent manner when the bird is excited. 



Colour. — The skin of the head and neck various tints of 

 blue and purple ; upper part of the back and wings yellowish 

 brown, with metallic lustre, changing to deep purple ; the 

 truncated tips of the feathers broadly margined with velvet 

 black ; the lower part of the back and the tail coverts are 

 deep chestnut, banded with green and black ; the under parts 

 are duller ; the legs and toes bright purplish red, claws bro^\^l. 



Size. — Four feet one inch in length ; extent of wings five 

 feet eight inches ; middle toe five, hind toe tvv'o inches ; pec- 

 toral appendage ten or eleven inches. 



Weight. — The ' gobblers,' as the male birds are termed, 

 weigh from eighteen to thirty pounds, the hens from fourteen 

 to eighteen pounds. 



,F all birds which in America are considered game, 

 the largest is the wild turkey. It is the national 



