﻿WILD 
  TURKEY. 
  49 
  

  

  covered 
  a 
  turkey's 
  nest, 
  in 
  June, 
  1893, 
  in 
  Somerset 
  County, 
  Pa., 
  which 
  

   contained 
  14 
  eggs. 
  William 
  Lloyd 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  Texas 
  turkey 
  

   breeds 
  twice 
  a 
  year. 
  He 
  found 
  a 
  nest, 
  May 
  29, 
  containing 
  8 
  eggs. 
  

   The 
  chicks, 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  tame 
  turkey, 
  are 
  very 
  delicate, 
  and 
  are 
  

   especially 
  sensitive 
  to 
  wet. 
  Audubon 
  says 
  that 
  during 
  wet 
  weather 
  

   they 
  are 
  fed 
  by 
  their 
  mothers 
  with 
  the 
  buds 
  of 
  spice 
  bush, 
  much 
  as 
  

   human 
  youngsters 
  are 
  dosed 
  with 
  quinine. 
  a 
  When 
  the 
  chicks 
  are 
  

   2 
  weeks 
  old 
  they 
  fly 
  up 
  and 
  roost 
  on 
  low 
  branches 
  with 
  their 
  

   mother. 
  At 
  this 
  age 
  they 
  have 
  weathered 
  most 
  of 
  their 
  early 
  perils. 
  

   During 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  December, 
  1902, 
  along 
  the 
  Roanoke 
  River, 
  near 
  

   the 
  North 
  Carolina 
  line, 
  the 
  writer 
  found 
  turkeys 
  in 
  typical 
  turkey 
  

   country. 
  Few 
  of 
  the 
  plantations 
  here 
  are 
  under 
  a 
  thousand 
  acres, 
  

   and 
  many 
  include 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  thousand. 
  Along 
  the 
  river 
  are 
  low- 
  

   lands, 
  often 
  flooded 
  during 
  high 
  water. 
  Several 
  hundred 
  yards 
  far- 
  

   ther 
  back 
  is 
  a 
  bluff, 
  the 
  old 
  river 
  terrace, 
  which 
  marks 
  the 
  beginning 
  

   of 
  the 
  uplands. 
  A 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  bluff, 
  half 
  a 
  mile 
  long 
  by 
  an 
  eighth 
  of 
  

   a 
  mile 
  wide, 
  consists 
  of 
  a 
  slate 
  outcrop, 
  much 
  elevated 
  above 
  the 
  rest 
  

   and 
  varying 
  from 
  50 
  to 
  150 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  river. 
  It 
  is 
  locally 
  known 
  

   as 
  ' 
  the 
  mountain,' 
  and 
  is 
  heavily 
  forested 
  with 
  pine 
  and 
  oak. 
  The 
  

   turkeys 
  were 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  backbone 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  mountain,' 
  among 
  white 
  

   oak 
  trees, 
  where 
  fresh 
  droppings 
  and 
  places 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  had 
  

   scratched 
  in 
  the 
  dry 
  oak 
  leaves 
  to 
  the 
  depth 
  of 
  2 
  or 
  3 
  inches 
  were 
  

   visible. 
  So 
  recently 
  had 
  the 
  birds 
  been 
  there 
  that 
  the 
  humus 
  had 
  

   not 
  dried. 
  The 
  scratching 
  places 
  were 
  from 
  15 
  to 
  18 
  inches 
  in 
  diam- 
  

   eter 
  and 
  circular 
  in 
  shape. 
  In 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  white 
  oaks 
  there 
  were 
  

   fully 
  fifty 
  scratching 
  holes, 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  five 
  being 
  found 
  within 
  one 
  

   square 
  rod, 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  had 
  made 
  diligent 
  search 
  for 
  acorns. 
  A 
  

   turkey 
  dog 
  was 
  sent 
  ahead 
  and 
  soon 
  flushed 
  a 
  bird, 
  which 
  came 
  flying 
  

   by, 
  looking 
  like 
  a 
  giant 
  ruffed 
  grouse. 
  All 
  through 
  the 
  woods 
  were 
  

   turkey 
  blinds, 
  some 
  made 
  of 
  young 
  pine 
  trees 
  and 
  others, 
  more 
  elab- 
  

   orate, 
  of 
  logs. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  turkeys 
  killed 
  here 
  are 
  shot 
  by 
  calling 
  

   them 
  up 
  to 
  these 
  blinds. 
  In 
  a 
  patch 
  of 
  rank 
  broomsedge 
  and 
  briers 
  a 
  

   20-pound 
  gobbler 
  sprang 
  into 
  the 
  air 
  and 
  was 
  shot 
  while 
  making 
  off 
  in 
  

   clumsy 
  fashion. 
  It 
  had 
  not 
  had 
  time 
  to 
  eat 
  much, 
  and 
  the 
  stomach 
  

   and 
  crop 
  contained 
  seven 
  dipterous 
  larvae, 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  white-oak 
  

   acorns, 
  and 
  about 
  a 
  hundred 
  flowering 
  dogwood 
  berries. 
  On 
  the 
  15th 
  

   of 
  June, 
  1903, 
  two 
  broods 
  of 
  young 
  about 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  game 
  hens 
  were 
  

   seen. 
  

  

  FOOD 
  HABITS. 
  

  

  The 
  Biological 
  Survey 
  has 
  examined, 
  in 
  all, 
  16 
  stomachs 
  and 
  crops 
  

   of 
  wild 
  turkeys. 
  These 
  were 
  collected 
  during 
  February, 
  March, 
  July, 
  

   September, 
  November, 
  and 
  December. 
  They 
  contained 
  15.57 
  percent 
  

  

  o 
  Ornith. 
  Biog., 
  vol. 
  1, 
  p. 
  7, 
  1831. 
  

  

  