MELEAGRIDiy — THE TURKEYS. 4J0 



very fond of taking to flight, but its powers in this respect arc not beliind those of any of the allied 

 lonns. Its br«-.l.ng.se,.son is in March or April, when the hens separate fron. the males to 

 reun. c u. o lanulies again in September. Their general habits .luring this season are much as 

 with the .lomestio b.r.l, altliough I cannot say whether th..y inflate and swell then.selves out in 

 he same manner. I am, however, inclined to doubt it, as the specimen I have han.lled did not 

 have the tips of the wing-feathers worn away as in the barn-yard breed. The female lays from 

 three to twelve brownish-rcd, spotted eggs in the high grain, and hatches them out in thirty days 

 as ,s the case with the tan,e Turkey. The llesh of the wild bird is dry. but very sweet, like th^ 

 tame fowl, and like the latter is dark on tin- back and legs, and white on the breast an.l wings 



Ihe white meat of the flesh on the breast of the Mexican and the tame Turkey, as compared 

 with the darker meat of the common North American wild bird, is a fact of importance to bo 

 taken into considenition. 



"The exact distribution of the Mexican Wild Turkey southward and westward is not ascer- 

 tamed, nor is it known that it occupies the western jKirtion of the Mexican country. In Yuca- 

 tan and Northern Guatemala it is i-eplaced by a third species, the Ocellate.l Tynk.y (Mclcagris 

 o^ata), rather ess 1,1 size, but far more striking in appeamnee, being marked in the tail ^HY, 

 spots .somewhat ike the 'eyes' of the tail of the Peacock. The thr.e species thus belong to 

 Mexico and northern parts of Central America. ^ 



" Very truly yours, 



"C. SARTORIUS." 



