400 NOIITM AMKiaCAN niRDS. 



final extinction is prol)al)ly only one of tiiuc, and that not very distant. In 

 Audiilion's day tlioy wero to bo Ibund alon^' tho whole line of the AUogha- 

 nies, where they wtill occur, l)ut have become very wary and to be approachod 

 only with the j^reatest ditliculty. In Louisiana and in Kentuclcy, Audubon 

 found tiieiu most alnindant, and in these States he enjoyed the most favor- 

 able opportunities for ol)servinjf thi'ir very remarkable habits in regions tlien 

 comparatively undisturbed by tlie intrusion of civilized man. They are said 

 to be not uncommon in Virginia, and arc not unirt;t|uently met with even in 

 tho vicinity of Washington. 



]Jr. Woodhou.se found this species abundant throughout the wooded por- 

 tions of the Indian Territory and Texas. While in tiie Creek country his ])arty 

 killed numbers of them daily. Many of them were very large, and weighed 

 ujiwards of nineteen pounds eacli, altho\igh at tliat time tliey were in poor con- 

 dition. Tliey were quite abundant along the Iiio San Pedro in Texas. 



Mr. Dresser found the Wild Turkey common in all tlie ]iortions of Texas 

 and Mexico that he visited, and ])articularly so on tlie river's l)etwccn San 

 Antonio and the JJio (.Irande. His first Turkey hunt was on tlie X'^pper 

 Medina IJiver, about forty miles from San Antonio. It proved to be wary 

 and difficult to approach in the daytime ; but by watching to see where 

 they roosted, and visiting them by mooidight, one or two conld generally be 

 secured. They generally preferred roosting in high cottonwood-trees, on 

 the banks of a stream, perching as high n]) as possible. He once saw eleven 

 Turkeys on one large bough of a cottonwood-tree on the ^ledina. When 

 the pecan-nuts are ripe the Turkeys become very fat, as they are extremely 

 fond of these nuts, which are very oily. One very plump bird was found, 

 after it had been dressed, to weigh sixteen pounds. Mr. I )iesser was in- 

 formed by the hunters, that, for a nest, the Turkeys scratch a hole in the 

 ground, or make a sort of nest in the grass under a busii.and that the eggs 

 resemlde those of the tame Turkey, exce[)t in being smaller and more elon- 

 gated in form. The Mexicans, on the Upper lUo Grande, sometimes domes- 

 ticate tlie "Wild Turkey, and at Piedras Negras Mr. Dresser saw two that 

 had been caught when quite young and had become very tame. Tlie female 

 was then sitting, and the eggs, when examined, were found to agree with 

 the account given him by the hunters. 



Mr. Audubon, in his very full and minnte account of their habits, speaks 

 of them as irregularly migratory and gregarious, their migrations having 

 reference only to the abundance of food, and the meeting together in the 

 same localities lieing to a large degree caused by the same source of attrac- 

 tion, — the supply of mast in certain regions. In this way they desert 

 sections where the supply is exhausted, and advance towards those where 

 it is more plentiful. 



Late in October these birds assemble in flocks in the rich bottom-lands of 

 the Western ri\ers, the male birds associating in parties of from ten to a 

 hundred, and keeping apart from the females. The latter are simultane- 



