WILD TURKEY. es 
become confused on the middle feathers ; near the tip is a broad 
black band, then the feathers are again mottled for a short dis- 
tance, and are widely tipped with ferruginous yellow. 
The feet are robust and somewhat elongated; the tarsus 
measures more than six inches in length, being covered before 
by large alternate pentagonal plates, and furnished, on the 
inner posterior side, with a rather obtuse, robust, compressed 
spur, nearly one inch long. The toes are three before, con- 
nected at base by a membrane, and one behind, touching the 
eround only at tip, being articulated higher on the tarsus than 
the others, and one-half shorter than the lateral toes, which are 
equal ; the middle toe is more than four inches long, and the 
posterior but little more than one inch ; they are all covered 
by entire plates ; the sole is granulated: the colour of the feet 
is red, the margins of the plates and scales, the membrane and 
nails, being blackish ; the nails are oblong, wide, obtuse at tip, 
rounded above, and perfectly plain beneath. 
The female, or hen-turkey, is considerably smaller in size, 
being three feet and a quarter long ; the billand feet resemble 
those of the male, but are proportionally smaller, the latter 
being destitute of even a rudiment of spur ; the irides are like 
those of the male; the head and neck are not so naked as in 
that sex, but are covered by small, decomposed feathers, of a 
dirty greyish colour; those of the back of the neck are tipt 
with ferruginous, constituting a longitudinal vitta on that part; 
the caruncle on the frontlet is rudimental, not susceptible of 
being elongated; the pectoral appendage is entirely wanting 
in our specimen; the general plumage is dusky grey, each 
feather having a metallic band, less brilliant than that of the 
male ; then a blackish band and a greyish terminal fringe ; 
the black subterminal band is obsolete on the feathers of the 
neck and of the whole inferior surface; those of the latter part, 
with the feathers of the lower portion of the back, of the rump, 
and the flanks, have their tips yellowish ferrnginous, becoming 
sradually brighter towards the tail. The vent and thighs are 
dirty yellowish grey, without any reflections ; the under tail- 
