52 THE WILD TURKEY AND ITS HUNTING 



of the callous substance, and whose heels (in the 

 males) are armed with spurs." 



"Aldrovandus, who died in 1605, draws his 

 arguments from the same source as Belon; I there- 

 fore pass him by, and take notice of the greatest 

 of our naturalists Gesner (A v. 481.), who falls into 

 a mistake of another kind, and wishes the Turkey 

 to be thought a native of India. He quotes 

 iElian for that purpose, who tells us, ' That in 

 India are very large poultry not with combs, but 

 with various coloured crests interwoven like 

 flowers, with broad tails either bending or dis- 

 played in a circular form, which they draw along 

 the ground as peacocks do when they do not 

 erect them; and that the feathers are partly of a 

 gold colour, partly blue, and of an emerald col- 

 our.' (De Anim. lib. XVI. c, 2.). 



"This in all probability was the same bird with 

 the Peacock Pheasant of Mr. Edwards, Le Baron 

 de Tibet of M. Brisson, and the Pavo bicalcaratus 

 of Linnaeus. I have seen this bird living. It 

 has a crest, but not so conspicuous as that de- 

 scribed by iElian; but it has not those striking 

 colours in form of eyes, neither does it erect its 



