THE WILD TURKEY. 223 



In that work M. Bonaparte claims credit for having 

 given the first representation of the Wild Turkey; and 

 justly so, for the figures introduced into a landscape in 

 the account of De Laudonniere's Voyage to Florida, in 

 De Bry's Collection, and that published by Brickell 

 in his Natural History of North Carolina, cannot with 

 certainty be referred to the native bird. They are be- 

 sides too imperfect to be considered as characteristic 

 representations of the species. Much about the same 

 time with M. Bonaparte's figure appeared another, in 

 M. Vieillot's Galerie des Oiseaux, taken from a speci- 

 men in the Paris Museum. Magnificent figures, the 

 full size of life, of both sexes and their young, have 

 since been given by Mr. Audubon in his grand work on 

 the Birds of America. It is somewhat singular that so 

 noble a bird, and in America at least by no means a 

 rare one, should have remained unfigured until within 

 five years of the present time ; all the plates in Euro- 

 pean works being manifestly derived from domestic 

 specimens. Our own figure is taken from a young 

 male, in imperfect plumage, brought from America by 

 Mr. Audubon. Another specimen, in very brilliant 

 plumage, but perhaps not purely v.ild, forms part of 

 the Society's Museum. 



It is unnecessary to enter into any particulars regard- 

 ing the habits and manners of the Turke in its domes- 

 ticated state, since they must be perfectly familiar to 

 eveiy reader. There is, however, in America, an inter- 

 mediate breed, half wild and half tame, whose pecu- 

 liarities are not without interest. Generally speaking 

 the domestic Turkey of that quarter of the globe, 

 although allowed to roam at large in the woods and 

 open fields, is in no respect superior to that of the 

 European poultry-yard. But a crossing often occurs in 

 countries where both the wild aufl tame birds are 



