278 WILD TURKEYS 



Each call extends over a period of two seconds and is repeated at fre- 

 quent intervals." This is evidently very unlike the emphatic boom-ah- 

 boom of the true Prairie Hen, and this pronounced difference in notes 

 suggests that possibly the eastern and western birds are not so closely 

 allied as their resemblance in plumage would lead one to believe. 



308. Pedioecetes phasianellus phasianellus (Linn.}. SHARP- 

 TAILED GROUSE. Similar to P. p. campestris but much darker and the black 

 areas larger and more prominent than the ochraceous ones, the latter deeper, 

 more rusty. 



Range. Cen. Alaska and nw. B. C. e. through cen. Keewatin to cen. 

 w. Ungava, and s. to Lake Superior and the Parry Sound district, Ont.; 

 casual e. to Saguenay River, Que. 



SE. Minn., formerly present, now wanting. 



308b. Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris Ridgw. PRAIRIE SHARP- 

 TAILED GROUSE. Ad. d". Prevailing color of the upperparts ochraceous- 

 buff, barred and irregularly marked with black; no neck tufts; outer web of 

 the primaries spotted with white; middle tail-feathers projecting about an 

 inch beyond the others, ochraceous-buff . and black; throat buffy; breast 

 with V-shaped marks of black; sides irregularly barred or spotted with black 

 or buffy; middle of the belly white. Ad. 9. Similar, but smaller; the middle 

 tail-feathers shorter. L., 17'50; W., 8'50; T., 4'50; B. from N., '50. 



Range. S. Alberta and s. Man. to Wyo., Kans., and n. 111. 



Nest, on the ground. Eggs, 1114, creamy buff or pale olive-brown, 

 generally slightly spotted with fine, reddish brown markings, 1*65 x 1'22 

 (Bendire). Date, Carberry, Man., June 3. 



There is more or less confusion in regard to the names Prairie Hen 

 and Prairie Chicken, but where the two species are found together I 

 have found that the former is applied to Pedicecetes and the latter to 

 Tympanuchus. In central Nebraska, I found this species inhabiting 

 the sand-hills while the Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus) was nesting 

 in immediately adjoining bushy bottom-lands. In Saskatchewan it 

 lived among the rose-bushes near the borders of streams. When 

 'dancing' the male inflates a pink sac, utters a bubbling crow, rattles 

 its tail-quills, etc. The whole performance is well described by Seton, 

 as quoted by Bendire, and by Cameron (Auk, 1907, p. 256). 



32. FAMILY MELEAGRID^. TURKEYS 



This distinctively American family contains only two species, the 

 Yucatan Turkey (Agriocharis ocellata) and our Wild Turkey. The 

 former is confined to Yucatan and the adjoining portions of Guatemala 

 and Honduras, and, except in isolated instances, has defied all attempts 

 at domestication. The latter ranges from southern Mexico northward, 

 and is represented by five subspecies as follows: (1) Meleagris gallopavo 

 gallopavo of southern Mexico; (2) M. g. merriami of northern Mexico, 

 southwestern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado J 

 (3) M. g. intermedia of northeastern Mexico north to middle northern; 

 Texas; (4) M. g. osceola of southern Florida, and (5) M. g. silvestris,\ 

 our Wild Turkey, which, formerly, extended as far north as southern 



