156 CLASS AVES. • 



countrymen ; and this fowl is found in very considerable 

 abundance all over India. In Congo, and on the Gold Coast, 

 turkeys are found only in the factories, established there by 

 Europeans, which renders it quite evident that they are not 

 natives of Africa. The domestic turkey is very common at 

 the Cape of Good Hope. A colonist does not think that he 

 receives his guest with suitable hospitality unless his table is 

 covered with a superabundance of poultry. The turkey is 

 especially in high request, and is one of those dishes which 

 are deemed indispensable in a South African banquet. 



Sonnini tells us, that the first turkey which was eaten in 

 France appeared at the feast of the nuptials of Charles IX., 

 in 1579. This species is supposed to have been introduced 

 into England from Spain about the year 1524. The name 

 does not occur in the list of Archbishop Nevil's feast, nor is 

 it mentioned in the Earl of Northumberland's household 

 book, so late as 1512. 



The wild turkeys are much more bulky than the domestic 

 turkeys, weighing from twenty even to sixty pounds. Their 

 plumage is always of an uniform deep brown ; all the feathers 

 are slightly undulated with very delicate traits of brown. 

 The males exhibit varying tints which give splendour to the 

 plumage. 



The wild turkeys fly in numerous flocks of many hundreds. 

 They frequent woods and coppices during the day, where 

 they feed on acorns. They return in the evening into 

 marshes, where they pass the night. They perch on trees, 

 and are not unfrequently hunted with hounds. 



Wild turkeys are found from the country of the Illinois, 

 as far as the Isthmus of Panama. The birds which travellers 

 have met more to the southward, and mistaken for turkies, 

 are hoccos. They live for the most part in forests, and feed 

 on wild fruits : the acorn of the green oak fattens them very 

 much. Their flesh is preferable to that of the domestic 



