126 IJOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. . 



name of English turkeys is given in France, came originally from this species of w9d 

 turkey, and when they are not crossed with the common species, they retain the primi- 

 tive colour of their plumage as well as that of their legs, which is a deep red. If subse- 

 quent to 1525 our domestic turkies were naturalized in Spain, and from thence were 

 introduced into the rest of Europe, it is probable that they were originally from some of 

 the more southern parts of America, where they doubtless exist a species different from 

 that of the United States.'* 



Notwithstanding the authoritative decisions of the two last quoted writers, I think we 

 may venture to dissent from them, and to say that the wild and tame turkeys are only 

 varieties of the same species. It is well known that they breed together, and that their 

 offspring are also productive. The only difficulty, then, is respecting their size and 

 plumage; all animals are changed by domestication. Their colour, in a wild state, is 

 generally uniform and similar, but when tamed, it changes into a number of varieties. 

 The mallard is the stock from whence our domestic duck proceeds, and the gray lag is 

 the origin of the domestic goose. The colour of these birds, in their reclaimed condition, 

 is various ; in their wild state it is uniform. The turkey when domesticated is exposed to 

 the same mutations. As to comparative size, it may be observed, that the largest wild 

 turkey does not exceed the largest tame turkey one half in weight ; and this may also 

 proceed from domestication. If the bison is the original stock of our tame cattle, has 

 not the latter diminished in magnitude by the change ? But this diversity may, perhaps, 

 be satisfact rily accounted for in another way. The turkey was introduced into Europe 

 from Spain, and Spain derived it from her tropical colonies. It is a bird which flourishes 

 best in temperate climates ; as it extended its migrations too far to the south, it dimi- 

 nished in size : although the identity of species could not be changed, yet a variety was 

 produced of inferior magnitude. From the Spanish turkey, which was thus spread over 

 Europe, we have obtained our dwnestic one. The wild turkey has been frequently 

 tamed, and his offspring is of a larger size. 



Considerable doubts have also been suggested with respect to that interesting bird 

 called the rice bird, reed bird, or bob lincoln, (emberiza oryzivora.) I call it interesting 

 on account of the beauty of its plumage, the melody of its notes, and the delicacy of its 

 flesh, which induced Brisson to call it Tortolan de la Caroline. Its migrations have 

 been represented as composed of each sex distinctly. Catesby first suggested this idea. 

 " In September,*' says he, " when the rice birds arrive in Carolina, in infinite swarms, to 

 devour the rice, they are all hens, not being accompanied with any cock. Observing 

 them to be all feathered alike, I imagined they were young of both sexes not perfected in 

 their colours ; but by opening some scores prepared for the spit, I found them to be all 



