THE GUINEA FOWL. 47 7 



part of the back they are bronze-green banded with black and gold ; and towards the tail the 

 ^'reen assumes a flashing emerald hup, and the gold band becomes wider and darker with fiery- 

 red, like the throat of the ruby-tliroated humming-bird. The tail-coverts are furnished with 

 bold "eyes" at their tips, and the lower parts of the body are also bronze-green and black, 

 but without the lustre of the upper parts. The primary feathers of the wings are black edged 

 with wliite, and the secondaries have the outer webs wholly white. The greater coverts are 

 rich chestnut, and the legs and feet are lake. In size this bird is rather smaller than the 

 common Turkey. 



The ^Mexican or Honduras Turkey is a variety of the Western Wild Turkey, differing in 

 the coloration and strength of metallic gloss. In this bird the black, sub-terminal zone of the 

 tail has a more or less distinct metallic bronzing. The tips of the upper tail-coverts have a 

 pale ochraceous, instead of pure white. 



This variety is the one from which our domestic Turkey originated, and not the one found 

 in the eastern parts of the United States. 



Professor Baird says of the history of this bird as a domestic one: "So involved in 

 obscurity is the early history of the Turkey, and so ignorant do the writers of the sixteenth 

 century appear to have been about it, that they have regarded it as a bird known to the ancients 

 by the name meleagris (really the Guinea Fowl, or Pintado), a mistake which was not cleared 

 up till the middle of the eighteenth century. The appellation of Turkey which this bird bears 

 in England arose from the supposition that the bird came originally from the country of that 

 name, — an idea entirely erroneous, as it owes its origin to the New World. Mexico was first 

 discovered by Grigalva in 1518. Oveido speaks of the Turkey as a kind of Peacock abounding 

 in New Spain, which had already, in loSO, been transported in a domestic state to the West 

 India Islands and the Spanish Main, where it was kept by the Christian colonists. It is reported 

 to have been introduced into England in 1541. In lo73 it had become the Christmas fare of 

 the farmer." 



It is stated that zoological gardens were kept in Mexico at tlie time of the Conquest, and 

 that then wild Turkeys were fed out to the animals, so abundant were they. It is thought 

 that these birds were then domesticated, and had been, perhaps, a long time previously, and 

 that they were introduced into Europe about the first of the sixteenth century. 



The prettily spotted Guinea Fowl, or Pintado, is, although now domesticated in foreign 

 countries, a native of Africa, and with some exceptions, has much of the habits and propen- 

 sities of the turkey, which bird it evidently represents. 



Like the turkey, it is a confirmed wanderer, travelling continually during the day, and perch- 

 ing on the branches to roost at night. It differs from the turkey, however, in its choice of local- 

 ity, for whereas the turkey always keeps itself to the driest spots, shunning the low-lying lands 

 as fatal to its young, the GuineA Fowl has a special liking for the marshes, and may generally 

 be found among the most humid spots or upon the banks of rivers. It is a gregarious bird, 

 assembling in large bands, which traverse the country in company. The flight of the Pintado 

 is seldom extended to any great distance, as the body is heavy in proportion to the power of 

 wing, and the bird is forced to take short and hasty flights, with much flapping of the wings, 

 and to trust mostly to its legs for locomotion. On the ground the Guinea Fowl is a very swift 

 bird, as is well known to those who have tried to catch'it in an open field. 



Both in the wild and the captive state the Guinea Fowl is wary and suspicious, and par- 

 ticularly careful not to betray the position of its nest, thus often giving great trouble to the 

 farmer. Sometimes when the breeding season approaches, the female Pintado will hide her- 

 self and nest so effectually that the only indication of her proceedings is her subsequent 

 appearance with a brood of young around her. The number of eggs is rather large, being 

 seldom below ten, and often double that number. Tlieir color is yell()wish-red, covered with 

 very little dark spots, and their size is less than that of the common fowl. Their shells are 

 extremely hard and thick, and when boiled for the table require some little exertion to open 

 properly. 



Every one knows the curious, almost articulate cry of the Guinea Fowl, its " Come-back ! 



