300 The Turkey Family 



distinguishing mark is its conspicuous, whitish 

 gray rump, which might be exactly matched in 

 many a barnyard of this country and Europe. 

 Nor is this to be wondered at, for from the Mexi- 

 can turkey of older days came the domestic bird. 

 While its general habits closely resemble those 

 of our better-known race, it prefers higher alti- 

 tudes, being found on the table-lands and moun- 

 tains at an elevation varying from about three to 

 ten thousand feet. The love-making, nesting, and 

 behavior of the males need not be dwelt upon, 

 as what has been said about M. sylvestris, male 

 and female, will apply equally as well to this 

 species. But bad husband and worse father that 

 he is, we surely can forgive this bird his tres- 

 passes ! Who are we, that, while bowing our 

 thankful heads about the polished bier of his 

 many times great-grandson, we should remember 

 only his peccadilloes and forget the aching voids 

 which he and his sons — more power to 'em — 

 have so acceptably filled. Nay ! even overfilled, 

 as the soda might attest. 



The range of the Mexican turkey includes 

 southern and western Texas, New Mexico, Ari- 

 zona, and the table-lands of Mexico. 



The exact date of the introduction of this bird 

 into Europe is unfortunately unknown. The 

 credit of having taken it to the West Indies isl- 

 ands probably belongs to the Spaniards, who 



