STANDARD VARIETIES 539 



about the Bourbon Reds, Slate turkeys, Black turkeys and Buff 

 turkeys. The Buffs and Slates have always been rare, and to-day 

 the Blacks are seldom bred. The Bronze is the most popular, 

 next comes the Narragansett, and then the White Holland, 

 though in recent years the Bourbon Red has grown into con- 

 siderable favor and may be entitled to third position. 



The exact origin of the domestic turkey will probably never 

 be satisfactorily settled, for ornithologists are greatly at variance 

 on this subject. The most accepted view of the matter is that 

 all the turkeys of the world have descended in some way from 

 the three forms of wild turkeys, the North Arnerican, the Mexi- 

 can, and the Honduras, or Ocellated turkey. There seems to be 

 no question concerning the transportation of these birds from 

 America to Spain about the year 1520, and that they were sub- 

 sequently shipped to England, in 1524, where they soon became 

 very popular and were extensively bred. Many improvements 

 were made among the English breeders, but it remained for 

 American fanciers to develop the present standard varieties. 



The color of the North American wild turkey is much the same 

 as the Bronze. It is black, wonderfully shaded with bronze, 

 the breast plumage being dark bronze, illuminated with a lus- 

 trous copper or gold color. The name Bronze is derived from 

 this beautiful metallic sheen. 



Mexican Turkey. — ^The wild turkey of the southern part of 

 the continent, known as the Mexican turkey, is shorter in shank 

 than the North American species. The color is much the same, 

 except for the white markings on the tips of the feathers, which 

 is considered to be responsible for the color of the domestic 

 variety known as the Narragansett. From the meager records 

 available, the Mexican turkey was the first variety to be taken 

 to Europe by the Spaniards. 



The Ocellated turkey, indigenous to Honduras and other 

 Central American countries, is considered to be the most beauti- 

 ful in color, and may be compared to the Impeyan pheasant. 

 The ground color of the plumage is a bronze-green, banded with 

 bars of gold, blue and red, or a lustrous black. The head and 



