324 The Wild Turkey and its Domestication. [June, 
the place without caution, — laughing, talking, and perhaps sing- 
ing, — he knew he was undiscovered and not likely to be looked 
for there, and so felt no apprehension, and it was only by an acci- 
dent that his presence was found out. These incidents tell us of 
the habits of the bird. 
This disposition, especially of the cock, to seek a high perch is 
scarcely impaired by domestication in the second and third gen- 
erations, but after that they seem less ambitious for high places, 
and it appears to grow less and less in succeeding generations, till 
they come down to about the level of the domestic turkey. 
The wild and suspicious timidity so characteristic of the wild 
turkey is eradicated very slowly. When back in the park forag- 
ing they seem suspicious even of the one who daily feeds them, 
and make off when they see him approaching; but upon their 
feeding grounds most of them come to pick up the corn even 
within a few feet of strangers. Let any cause of alarm, how- 
ever, occur there and they take fright at once. Those only two 
or three generations from the,woods will take wing, while the 
others will run like race-horses. This wildness, however, dimin- 
ishes with each succeeding generation. 
The eggs of the wild turkey vary much in coloring and some- 
what in form, but in general are so like those of the tame turkey, 
that no one can select one from the other. The ground color is 
white, over which are scattered reddish-brown specks. These 
differ in shades of color but much more in numbers. I have seen 
some on which scarcely any specks could be detected, while 
others were profusely covered with specks, all laid by the same 
hen in the same nest. The turkey eggs are more pointed than 
those of the goose or the barn-yard fowl, and are much smaller in 
proportion to the size of the bird. 
When the wild turkey in the forest voluntarily leaves her. nest, 
she always covers it with leaves sufficient to hide the eggs and 
all evidence of the nest. This is less carefully done by the first 
descendants of the wild hen, and each succeeding generation be- 
comes more careless in this regard, till now more than half the 
nests we find are not covered at all, and none are covered with 
the care always manifest in the wild state. 
This wildness seems the most constant with the hen in the 
breeding season. When the hens are about to commence laying; 
they seem to relapse to their native wildness and seek the seclu- 
sion of the North and East parks, or if their wings are not clipped 
they may escape from the park to the neighboring forest and 
