MELEAGRIDiE. — ^XLVIII. 117 



OEDEE L.-GALLnT^. 



{The Gallinaceous Birds) 



Bill short, stout, convex, horny, not constricted; nostrils 

 scaled or feathered, cutting edge of upper mandible over- 

 lapping. Head often partly or wholly naked, sometimes 

 with fleshy processes. Legs moderate, stout; hind toe 

 elevated (excepting in Gracicloi, etc.), smaller than the 

 other toes, sometimes wanting. Tarsus broadly scutellate 

 (sometimes feathered), occasionally spurred in the males; 

 claws blunt, not much curved. Wings short, strong, con- 

 cave; tail various, sometimes wanting, often immensely 

 developed. Precocial, often polygamous. 



A large order comprising the various kinds of domesti- 

 cated fowl as well as the chief game birds of most 

 countries. 



FAMILY XLVIIL — MELEAGRID^. 



{Tlie Turkeys.) 

 I^arge birds, with the head and neck unfeathered, 

 covered with scattered hairs, and more or less caruncu- 

 late. Bill moderate; nostrils bare; forehead with an 

 elongate fleshy process. Tarsus spurred in male; hind 

 toe elevated. Tail nearly as long as wing, truncate, of 

 more than twelve feathers. Breast of male mostly with 

 a tuft of long bristles. Genus one; species two. M. 

 ocellatus, of tropical America, and the common Turkey. 



/. MELEAGRIS, Linnaeus. Tuekets. 



1. M. gallopavo, L. Wild Turkey. Glossy, coppery 

 black; L. 48; W. 31; T. 18^. Canada to Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and south to Mexico, becoming extinct eastwards. 

 The domestic Turkey is descended from a Mexican 

 variety. 



