LEARNING TURKEY LANGUAGE 177 



once or twice before they come down, and gob- 

 ble no more that day; others will not gobble 

 until they fly down, and then keep it up for 

 hours. Some will gobble all day from sunrise 

 to sunset. All these various idiosyncrasies the 

 knowledge of the hunter must meet. Some will 

 come to the yelp or cluck at the first imitation 

 of the sound, while others will take hours to make 

 up their minds whether to come at all. Take 

 it all together, the gobbler has most obstinate 

 ways, purposely or not; the wily hunter must 

 bring all his faculties to bear if he would outwit 

 him. 



If the old turkey begins to gobble on the roost 

 at the early dawn and to strut (although all do 

 not strut in the trees), he will gobble, watch, and 

 wait, hoping he may catch sight of the female — 

 located by her responsive yelp or cluck — that 

 may be roosting in a tree near him, or one ap- 

 proaching on foot or flying toward him through 

 the timber. If not so fortunate, he will usually 

 fly to the ground, scan the surroundings with his 

 keen eye a moment or so, then drop his wings, 

 spread his semicircular tail, strut, and gobble. 



