CHAPTER TX 



HABITS OF ASSOCIATION AND ROOSTING 



A FTER obtaining a supply of food, the wild 

 /% turkeys become moody and careless, 

 A. jL lounging about the sunny slopes if the 

 weather be cool, or if it be hot, seeking the 

 shade of the hummock or thicket, preening their 

 feathers or wallowing in the dust. They thus 

 pass the middle hours of the day in social har- 

 mony and restful abandon. About three or four 

 o'clock in the afternoon the line of march is re- 

 sumed in the direction of the roosting place, and 

 they gather their evening meal as they journey 

 along. They are excellent timekeepers, usually 

 winding up the day at one of their favourite 

 roosts; but in case this calculation is faulty and 

 sundown overtakes them a mile or so from the de- 

 sired spot, they will start on a run in single file, the 

 old hens leading, and keep going rapidly until 

 their destination is reached. They will then stop 



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