74 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Remarks by various authors. 



of the body, excepting the lower part of it, of the 

 cock/are black; that of the hen rather of a dusky 

 brown ; the tail is black, with four bars of white 

 running across it near the extremity, at equal dis- 

 tances* The bill is thick on the upper mandible, 

 of which there is a round excrescence as big as 

 a hazle nut; the eyes are black, and the legs- 

 pretty long, and the size of its body not a great 

 deal less than a common turkey. 



M. W.in his " Description of the kingdom of 

 Mosqueto", calls it a small Indian turkey, and<says- 

 they arc very welcome game to the hungry tra- 

 veller, who may shoot all he meets with, one af- 

 ter another, they being so very tame, that they- 

 will scarcely fly away : they keep frequently ten 

 or a dozen in a flock, and are Excellent meat. 



The author of the " Buccaniers of America" takes 

 notice of this bird under the name of Oecos, and 

 says it very much resembles the European turkey, 

 and that the feathers of some of the male kind are 

 inclining to red, but those of the female to black, 



Dr. Gemelli says, they have abundance of them 

 in New Spain which at new moon are easily 

 killed ;'<* for when one falls, (he says) there isrno- 

 danger of the rest flying away at the noise of the 

 gun." 



