APPENDIX 349 



Hab, — Wooded districts of Central, Western, and Southern States, 

 except Florida ; west to Texas and Wisconsin. 



(d) Florida Wild Turkey {Meleagris sylvestris osceola). 

 A smaller turkey. 

 Hab. — Southern Florida. 



(b) Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey {Meleagris sylvestris ellioti). 



Hab. — Southeastern Texas and Northeastern Mexico. 



JVote. — The turkey is indigenous to North America alone. This bird is 

 named turlcey since it was erroneously supposed to have been introduced into 

 England from Turkey. 



See The Auk, January, 1899. 



4. Prairie Hen. — Tympanuchus Americanus, 

 Pinnated Grouse. 



General color brown, barred with black and buff ; black tuft of 

 feathers on sides of neck ; throat and cheeks buff, throat marked with 

 brown spots ; under parts white, barred cross-wise with brown ; tail 

 brown ; large sac of loose skin, capable of inflation, on neck. Length, 

 18 in. ; wing, 9 in. 



Female. — Similar, without neck sac. Length, 17^ in. ; wing, 8^ in. 



Hab. — Prairies of the Mississippi valley; south to Louisiana and 

 Texas ; east to Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario ; west 

 through eastern portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, 

 Kansas, and the Indian Territory ; north to Manitoba. General tendency 

 to extension of range westward and contraction eastward. Migration 

 north and south in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. 



Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, Michigan, who goes to shoot in the Dakotas 

 each season, says : Of late the prairie-chickens have increased, and the sharp- 

 tailed grouse have decreased, so on our recent trip, out of ninety birds killed 

 probably three-fourths of them were prairie-chickens. 



{a) Lesser prairie hen (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). 

 A smaller and paler bird ; pattern and markings the same as No. 4. 

 Hab. — Eastern edge of the Great Plains, from Western and prob- 

 ably Southern Texas northward through Indian Territory to Kansas. 



(3) Atwater' s prairie hen {Tympanuchus americanus atwateri). 

 Similar to preceding. 

 Hab. — Coast region of Lo&isiana and Texas. 



