THE TURKEY. 



141 



table, the hunters single them from the flock, and kill 

 them in preference to the others. The female wild 

 turkey is more frequently furnished wit the hairy tuft 

 than the tame one, and this appendage is gained ear- 

 lier in life. The great number of young hens without 

 it, has, no doubt, given rise to the inoorrect assertion 

 of a few writers that the female is always destitute of 

 it. The irides are similar in color to those of the male. 

 Bill and spurless legs less stout. Head and neck with 

 less of naked skin, being partially covered with dirty- 

 grey feathers. Those on the back of the neck have 

 brownish tips, and so produce a longitudinal band there ; 

 the short caruncle on the front is incapabable of elon- 

 gation. Prevailing hue of plumage, dusky-grey, each 

 feather having a metallic band duller than in the male, 

 then a blackish band, and lastly a greyish fringe. The 

 blackish band, is almost obliterated on the neck feath- 

 ers and under surface. The whole plumage is more 

 sombre than that of the male ; there is less white on 

 the primaries, and there are no bands on the seconda- 

 ries. The color of the tail is much as it is in the male. 

 Length not exceeding three feet and a quarter. 



The young of both sexes resemble* each other so 

 closely, before the naked membrane acquires its tinge 

 of red, as to be scarcely distinguishable. The females, 

 however, when a few days old, are somewhat larger 

 than the males, and have a weaker piping note. The 

 males then begin to stand higher on their legs, which 

 are stronger than those of the females, and soon ex- 

 hibit the rudiments of spurs. On the approach of the 

 first winter, the young males show a rudiment of beard, 

 or fascicle of hairs, on the breast, consisting of a mere 

 tubercle, and attempt to strut and gobble. The sec- 

 ond year, the hairy tuft is about three inches long ; in 

 the third, the turkey attains its full stature, though it 

 certainly increases in size and beauty for several years 

 longer. The concealed portion of the plumage on the 

 anterior portion of the back is sprinkled with pale fer- 



