246 



VERTEBRATA. 



or two spurs ; the toes are moderate-, ami tlio liinder one short and elevated ; the wings are rather 

 short and rounded, and the tail more or less elongated and broad, but frequently wedge-shaped 

 and pointed. The head is rarely feathered all over ; the naked skin is sometimes confined to a 

 space about the eye, but generally occupies a greater portion of the surface, occasionally covering 

 the whole head, and even a part of the neck, and frequently forming combs and wattles of very 

 remarkable forms. In some species the crown is furnished with a crest of feathers. 



The birds of this f:miily are for the most part indigenous to the Asiatic continent and islands, 

 from wliieh, however, several species have been introduced into other parts of the globe. The 

 Guinea-Fowl of Africa, and the Turkeys of America, are almost the only instances of the occur- 

 rence of wild PhasianidoTis birds out of Asia. Some species, such as the Common Fowl, the Pea- 

 cock, the Turkev, and the Guinea-Fowl, have been reduced to a state of complete domestication, 

 and are distributed pretty generally over the world. 





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t%^ 







THE TUEKET. 



THE MELEAGRINiE OR TURKEYS. 



Under this head we include the TurJceys and the Guinea-Foxvl. 



Genus MELEAGRIS : Meleagris. — To this belongs our Common "Wild Turkey, J/, gallopavo 

 — Dindon of the French — now known as a domestic fowl in most civilized countries, but which 

 was confined to America until after its discovery by Columbus ; it was probably introduced into 

 Europe by the Spaniards about the year 1530. It was found in the forests of North America from 

 the Isthmus of Darien to Canada when the country was first settled, being then abundant even in 

 New England; at present a few are found in the mountains of Massachusetts, New York, and 

 New Jersey ; in the AYestern and Southwestern States they arc still numerous, though constantly 

 diminishing before the extendinfj and increasinor settlements. The wild male bird is three to 

 four feet long, and weighs from fifteen to forty pounds ; its color is black, glossed with purple and 

 bronzed green ; the head and neck are covered with a bare carunculated skin, and at the base of 

 the bill there is a singular fleshy appendage, which is usually of considerable length. The breast 

 is ornamented with a tuft of long black wiry hair. 



The habits of these birds in their native wilds are exceedingly curious. The males, called 

 Gobblers, associate in parties of from ten to a hundred, and seek their food apart from the females, 

 which either go about singly with their young, at that time about two-thirds grown, or form 

 troops with other females and their families, sometimes to the amount of seventy or eighty. 



