220 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



opposite shore. The old and fat birds cross without 

 difficulty, even if the river should be a mile in breadth ; 

 but many of the young, especially if the banks are 

 steep, fall into and perish in the stream. When the 

 main body has reached the other side, they ramble 

 about for some time, without any apparent unanimity 

 of purpose ; and in this forlorn state many of them fall 

 victims to the hunters, although at the season when 

 they are least valuable. On their arrival in the land of 

 abundance, they disperse themselves in small flocks, 

 composed of individuals of all ages and of both sexes 

 intermingled, and devour the mast as they advance. 

 After these long journeys, which are generally con- 

 cluded about the middle of November, they become so 

 familiar as to venture even into the farmyards in search 

 of food; and great numbers are killed by the inha- 

 bitants, who preserve them in a frozen state, in order to 

 transport them to a distant market. 



In this way they pass the autumn and a part of the 

 winter. Early in March the females separate them- 

 selves from and shun the males ; they roost apart, but 

 at no great distance, so that when the female utters a 

 call, every male within hearing responds, rolling note 

 after note in the most rapid succession. Where the 

 Turkeys are numerous, the woods from one end to the 

 other, sometimes for hundreds of miles, resound with 

 this remarkable voice of wooing, which is continued for 

 about an hour before sun-rise. They then silently 

 descend from their perches, and the males begin to 

 strut about for the purpose of winning the admiration 

 of their mates. While thus occupied they occasionally 

 halt to look out for the female, and then resume their 

 strutting and puffing, moving with as much rapidity as 

 the nature of their gait will permit. During this cere- 

 monious approach the males often encounter each other. 



