AVES—WILD TURKEY. 595 
settled parts of the Union, but are not numerous in Florida, Georgia, or the 
Carolinas. They are very rare in the northern and eastern parts of the 
United States. They were formerly abundant in Canada, but as their places 
of resort become settled and thickly peopled, they retire and seek refuge in 
the remotest recesses of the interior. In New England it appears to have 
been destroyed many years ago, but they are still found in the eastern parts 
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 
These birds do not confine themselves to any particular food, but eat corn, 
berries, grapes, barley, tadpoles, young frogs, and lizards. Their favorite 

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food, however, is the pecan nut, and acorn. Where there is an abundant 
crop of acorns, there numerous flocks of turkeys may be expected. In the 
fall, they direct their courses in vast numbers to the rich lands on the bor- 
ders of the Ohio and Mississippi. The males and females travel separately, 
but all in the same direction. Before crossing a river, they assemble on the 
highest eminences, and remain there as if in consultation for a day or two. 
At length, after due preparation, the leader gives a signal note, and they al! 
wing their way to the opposite shore. Some of the young and weak fall 
into the water, and are obliged to swim for their lives, using all the means 
m their power, and the most violent exertion, to reach the shore. Many. 
