248 



V KUTEDUATA. 



when the foinalc utters a call, cwry male within hearing responds, rolling note after note in the 

 most rapid succession; not as when spreading the tail and strutting near the lien, hut in a voice 

 rt'senihlincr that of the tame turkey when he liears any unusual or frequently repeated noise. 

 Where the turki-vs are luiinerous, tlie woods, from one end to the other, sometimes for hundreds 

 of miles, resound with this remarkable voice of their wooing, uttered responsively from their roosting 

 phiees. This is continued for about an hour; an<], on the rising of the sun, they silently descend 

 from their piTcIies, and the males begin to strut for the purpose of winning the admiration of their 

 mates. If the call of a female be given from the ground, the males in the vieinity fly toward the 

 iiiiiividual, and, whether they perceive her or not, erect and spread tlieir tails, throw the licad 

 backward, disteml the comb and wattles, strut pompously, and rustle their wings and body-feath- 

 ers, at the same moment ejecting a pufF of air from the lungs. While thus occupied, they occa- 

 sionally halt to look out for the female, and tlu'U resume their strutting and pufling, moving with 

 as much rapidity as the nature of their gait will admit. During this ceremonious approach, the 

 males often encounter each other, and desperate battles ensue, when the conflict is only termi- 

 nated bv the flight or death of the vanquished. The usual fruits of such victories are reaped by 

 the conqueror, who is followed by one or more females, which roost near him, if not upon the 

 same tree, until ther becfin to lav, when their habits are altered, with the view of savino- their 

 eggs, which the male breaks if he can get at them. These are usually from nine to fifteen in 

 number, sometinu>s twenty, whitish, and spotted with brown like those of the domestic bird. The 

 lU'st consists of a few dried leaves placed on the ground, sometimes on a dry ridge, sometimes in 

 the fallen top of a dead leafy tree, under a thicket of sumach or briers, or by the side of a log. 

 The females are particularly attentive to their young. 



The habits of the domestic turkey are well known ; the common effect of domestication in 

 changing the colors of birds, as well as other animals, is conspicuous in this species, there being 

 various mixtures of buff, black, and white. The flesh of this species ranks among the best of do- 

 mestic fowls, and immense numbers of them are produced, especially in the United States, 









TUE HONDUKAS TURKEY. 



The noNDURAS or Ocellated Turkey, M. Mexicana^ is a beautiful species, nearly as large as 

 the preceding, recently discovered in Central America ; the plumage is of a lustrous coppery- 

 green, each tail-feather being furnished with a blue eye-spot, surrounded by a black ring. Speci- 

 mens have recently been presented to the London Zoological Gardens, 



