TKTUAONID.K- TIIK (iltolSE. 443 



try whore tlicyliiul hccii so very iiliiuKliiiit, sciinxly (uic could lio loiiiid. Mr. 

 Aiidiilioii .si)uuks (if tlujir Hi,'lliii,L; in Mastfrii iiuirkuts, in l.S4(t, at IVoni tivi; to 

 tun dollars jier pair. Tiiis is so no lon;.;er, i'acilitios in railroad transportation 

 ftnd tliuir continued abundance at tiie West rendi-rin.i^ tiiem a comparatively 

 pleiitiiul and clieaji article oi' i'ood. 



^Ir. Audnl)on mentions tliat at tlie same purio<l lii(>y were still to he nu;t 

 with in .some ])ortionsoi' Xew .leisey, in the " brushy " ]iliMusot' Lonjf Island, 

 on Mount De.sert Ishiiid in the State of Maine, and also in another tract of 

 liarreu country ninir Mar's llill in the same Slate. In regard to the two last- 

 named localities he may have; heen misinl'oriucjd. 



Mr. Lawrence menti(ms this species as still occnrriiin in the vicinity ot Xew 

 York City. Mr. Tnrnliull mentioned it as now very rare, lait occasionally natt 

 with, in the counties of ^lonroe and N'ortliam])lon in reiinsyhania, aial on 

 the plains in Xew Jerstsy. It is not rtiferred to l)y either Professor Vi^rrill 

 or Mr. IJoardman as occurring- in atiy ])art of Maine. It is, iiowever, j,dven 

 by Mr. Mcllwraith as an occasional visitor near Hamilton, in Caiiaila, on the 

 Avestern frontier, a I't^w individuals hein^' occasionally ol)served alon^i; the l)anks 

 of tiie St. Clair Iliver, l)ut not known to occur farllu'r east. 



Mr. Audui)ou also nu'utions having' found tliese birds abundant in all the 

 vast ])lains bordering on the prairies of the. Arkansas Wiver, and on tho.se of 

 the Opclousas in Louisiana. 



In the earliest da nf spriuii', o\en before the snows have all been melted, 

 these birds no longer kec]) in large tlo(d<s, but .separate into smaller i)arties, 

 and the niatiug-sensou commences, during v,-hich tiieir manners, especially 

 tho.se of the male, are very ])eculiar and striking. A jiarticular hicalitv is 

 selected, to wliich they resort until incubation has commenced. The males 

 meet in this place, and engage in furious battle; with one another. At this 

 sea.son they are es])ecially conspicuous for their great ])ompositv of bearing; 

 with tails out.spread and incliiujd forward to meet the exi)anded feathers of 

 their neck, and with the gdoladar, orange-colored, bladder-like recei)tacles of 

 air on their necks distended to their utmost ca])acity, and issuing a ])eculiar 

 sounil, .spoken of as hmniiin;), these birds strut about in the i)re,s(!uce of one 

 another with various manifestations of jealous dislike and animosity, .soon 

 ending in furious contests. Their wings are <leclined, in the maiuKM- of the 

 Cock-Turkey, and rustle on the ground as tlie birds jiass ami repass iu a rapid 

 niauner ; their liodies are dejavsspil, and their notcis iialicate their intense ex- 

 citement. Upon the a])pearance of a female answering to tliciir calls, they at 

 once engage iu their desjierate encounters. They rise in the air and strike 

 at one another iu the inanuer of a gamecock, and several engagi; in a mis- 

 cellaueiais .scrimmage, until the weaker give way, and, one; after another, .seek 

 refuge in the neighboring bushes, the few remaining victors discontinuing 

 their contests as if from shecu' exhaustion. 



The " booming " or " tooting "' sounds mad(! by the.se birds is heard before 

 daybreak, and also at all hours before sunset, iu ])laces where they are 



