TURKEYS 121 



TURKEYS: Family Meleagrididae. 

 WILD TURKEY: Meleagris gallopavo silvestris Vieillot. 



State records. — ^Wild turkeys are generally distributed over 

 the State, and although rare in many sections, they are still 

 common in favorable situations, particularly in the big 

 swamps of the southern counties and in the mountainous sec- 

 tions of the northern counties. 



At Carlton, in March, 1912, Holt saw a drove of about 12 

 and learned that four men killed 35 birds there in December, 

 1910. From that locality to the head of Mobile Bay, turkeys 

 are common in the heavy swamps; but in the swamps and 

 hammocks near Orange Beach they have been exterminated 

 within the last decade. Bear Swamp, near Autaugaville, still 

 harbors a good many of the birds, though their numbers are 

 said to have been greatly reduced in recent years. They are 

 reported fairly common at Ashford, Castleberry, and Myrtle- 

 wood and are known to occur also at Woodville, Natural 

 Bridge, Mount Weogufka, and on Sand Mountain (near Car- 

 penter). In the Talladega Mountains, near Dean, they are 

 said to be rather numerous, and a drove of 14 was seen there 

 in February, 1912. 



On a steep wooded hillside bordering the Warrior River 

 at Lock 14, June 19, 1911, I saw a hen turkey with 5 young 

 ones about the size of grouse, and on April 10, 1912, in nearly 

 the same spot, I saw another brood of 6 or 8 young. 



Gerieral habits. — The wild turkey is one of the wildest and 

 most suspicious of our native birds, dwelling in the deepest 

 and most inaccessible swamps and on heavily timbered moun- 

 tain sides. The birds travel in flocks during most of the year, 

 but during the breeding season the males separate from the 

 females and roost by themselves, usually choosing the tallest 

 trees to be found. At this season they frequently may be 

 heard "gobbling," especially in the early morning before they 

 leave their roost. At such times the hunter often is able to 

 lure one within reach by imitating the call of the hen. The 

 species is polygamous and the males take no part in the care 

 of the young. The nest is a slight depression of the ground 

 in the woods at the foot of a tree or under a bush ; the com- 

 plement of eggs is from 8 to 13. 



