Dec. 3, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



469 



WILD TURKEYS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



BY D. G. ELLIOT. 



ALTHOUaH the New World has contributed but one 

 genus to the great family of the Phasianidce, yet the 

 species that are comprised within it are the most import- 

 ant and valuable to man of all the known forms of fz;ei\li- 

 naceous birds, pither in their wild state, as furnishing 

 food to forest dwellers, or through the various domesti- 

 cated strains which knowledge and ingenuity has been 

 able to produce from the wild creatures themselves. 



The turkey is of very ancient lineage, and existed in 

 early geological times, various portions of the skeletons 

 having been found both in the Miocene of Colorado and 

 the post-Pleiocene of New Jersey. These represented 

 species larger, as well as smaller, than those livmg to-day. 



Very confused ideas prevailed among Europeans of a 

 few centuries ago as to the native country of these splen- 

 did birds, and the trivial name by which they are every- 

 where recognized was bestowed on account of the erro- 

 neous belief that they were introduced into England from 

 Turkey, and were indigenous to that country. 



IJp to the last few years it was supposed only one species 

 of the genus Meleagris existed, the common wild turkey, 

 as found in the eastern border of North America, and that 

 from it sprung all the domesticated races in their differ- 

 ent forms, so familiar thi-oughout the world, and ir was 

 not until 1856 that Gould separated the bird, then believed 

 to be found only in Mexico, from its northern relative, 

 as M. mexicana. This is very distinct from the common 

 wild turkey, and undoubtedly is the source from which 

 the greater portion of the domesticated birds are de- 

 rived. The name of the genus Meleagris, from the G-reek 

 l-iEXeLxypid, a guinea fowl, is another evidence of the con- 

 fused ideas existing regarding these bii-ds, and it was sup- 

 posed to be the same species known to the ancients under 

 that name. Externally, on a large scale, in their general 

 form and mode of carriage, turkeys have a certain re- 

 semblance to guiiiea fowls, but their skeletons possess very 

 different characters, and of course in these days there is 

 no likelihood of any one confounding the two in any way 

 whatever. They represent two well defined subfamilies 

 of the one great family. 



The visible characters which identify and separate tur- 

 keys from all other birds may be briefly stated as follows: 

 Head and upper portion of neck naked, with a wrinkled 

 skin, covered more or less with wartlike protuberances, 

 an extensile appendage on the forehead, a dewlap present, 

 a tarsus covered before and behind with broad scales, 

 and armed, in the male, with a spur. The feathers are 

 firm and smooth, and of highly metallic colors, especially 

 in the male, which sex is also distinguished by a "beard," 

 or tuft of lengthened hairlike feathers projecting from 

 the brea-st. Turkeys are both arboreal and terrestrial, and 

 are capable, when on the ground, of outrunning a fairly 

 swift horse. 



At the present time there are four species and subspecies 

 of the genus recognized in North America, and one, a 

 most gorgeous bird, fairly rivalin.L;- tlie hummingbird in 

 tiie resplendent metallic" brilliancy uf its plumage, is a 

 native of certain portions of Central America. 



The four North American birds are about equal in size, 

 having a general resemblance to each other in the colors 

 of their plumage, but each possessing characteristic dif- 

 ferences, which cause them to be readily recognizable. 

 One has been known since the discovery of the North 

 American continent, another was described, as already 

 stated, in 1856, and the other two within a few years, one 

 indeed only in the summer of 1893. They are Meleagris 

 gallopavo, the common wild turkey; M. mexicana, the 

 Mexican turkey, but not restricted by any means to that 

 country; M. gaUopavo osceola, the Florida wild turkey, 

 and M. gallopavo ellioti, the Rio Grande wild turkey. 

 These four may be characterized in a key somewhat as 

 follows: 



I. Plumage higlily metallic. 



a. Upper tail-coverts and tail very dark reddish chest- 



nut, the latter tipped with rusty, 

 a'. Primaries white with black bars. M. gallopavo. 

 b'. Primaries brownish black with white bars, not 

 reaching the shaft. M. g. osceola. 



b. Upper tail-coverts and tail chestnut, tipped with 



buff. M. g. elUoii. 



c. Upper tail-coverts and tail tip'ped with white. 



M. Diexicana. 



It will be seen by the above that the first two species 

 are very similar in appearance and that the main differ- 

 ence is in the coloration of the primaries, or long stiff 

 feathers of the wing, sometimes called "flight feathers." 

 In the common wild turkey the black and white are 

 pretty equally distributed on these feathers, and they buth 

 reach the shaft, while in the Florida bird tin- white bars 

 are narrow, somewhat broken, and do not reach the shaft. 

 These markings, though apparently so insignificant and 

 apt to be overlooked by the casual observer, are never- 

 theless constant, and it is by such characters, trivial as 

 they may seem, that the subspecific forms are estabhshed 

 and the geographical distribution of animals on our globe 

 ascertained. 



The next two, species and subspecies, have more evi- 

 ilence that they should be separated from the Northern 

 .and Eastern bird, and while the If. g. ellioti at first sight 

 might be mistaken for the common wild turkey, by com- 

 paring the two it would be at once perceived how much 

 they differ in the coloring of the rump, upper and under 

 tail-coverts and tail. The feathers of the rump are black, 

 with a metallic coppery bronze subterminal bar, and 

 broadly tipped with dark ochraceous buff; the coverts are 

 chestnut with narrow black crossbars, and broadly tipped 

 with buff. The tail is mottled with pale chestnut and 

 black, with a subterminal black bar, and broadly tipped 

 with dark ochraceous buff. The feathers of the rump of 

 .the common wild turkey and also the tail-coverts are 

 broadly tipped with dark chestnut, and the tail is tipped 

 with rusty, giving a very different appearance to tliese 

 parts, as shown in M. g. ellioti. The primaries of the 

 last-named also are more like 31. mexicana than those of 

 M. gallopavo, and furnish .-ui additional character to dis- 

 tinguish the Rio Grande bird. The female of M. g, ellioti, 

 however, in the grayish tips of the feathers on the upper 

 parts of the body and the pale buff tips on those of the 

 under surface, differs so entirely from the females of all 

 other spepiea of turkey, that it raiBeg a serious question 



whether this form should not be accorded a full specific 

 rank equal to mexicana and gallopavo. Lastly, M. mexi- 

 cana, in its white-tipped tail-coverts and tail, is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the other forms- 

 Wild Turkey — Meleagris gallopavo. 

 Meleagris gallopavo, Linn. Syst. Nat., Vol. I., 1766, p. 

 268. 



Habitat, eastern United States, from southern Canada 

 to northern Florida and eastern Texas, west to the plains. 



Naked skin of the head and neck blue, the wattles red. 

 Feathers of neck and body generally coppery bronze, 

 changing with gi'eenish or purplish reflections, and mar- 

 gined with black. Back and rump black, with red reflec- 

 tions; sides, and upper and lower tail-coverts dark chest- 

 nut, with a subterminal black bar, and with purple 

 reflections, and tipped with dark chestnut. Tail chestnut, 

 barred and mottled with black, with a subterminal black 

 bar, and tipped with pale chestnut or rusty. A long, 

 pendent tuft of hair-like feathers from the center of the 

 breast. Bill and legs red. 



It has been a moot question among writers what should 

 be the proper name for this well-known bird, but as Lin- 

 neeus gave that of ga/Zojxw'o to the "New England wild 

 turkey" of Ray, there can be no doubt as to its rightful 

 appellation. The turkey was first introduced into the 

 West India Islands in 1526 in a domestic state, and into 

 England in 1541. In the reign of Francis I. it was im- 

 ported into France, and it was first served on the table in 

 that country on the occasion of the wedding of Charles. 

 IX., in 1570. Bred with care it increased rapidly, and 

 was soon introduced into Asia and Africa. At the time 

 of the settlement of America the turkey was generally 

 disti-ibuted all along our eastern seaboard from Florida 

 to the New England States, but it has long since become 

 practically extinct as a wild bu'd north of Pennsylvania, 

 and in that State it is confined to a few mountainous dis- 

 tricts. Its range was given by most writers as much 

 more extensive than is really the fact, because it has been 

 confouHded with the Florida bird on the eastern coast, 

 and with the Rio Grande tm'key in the southwest, these 

 forms having only lately been recognized as distinct. It 

 may now be considered as restricted from Pennsylvania 

 to northern Florida of the Atlantic States, through the 

 Gulf States to southern Texas, north to Canada and west- 

 ward to the plains. Its habits are so well known and the 

 methods employed for its capture so thoroughly under- 

 stood, that it is not necessary to discuss them here; but no 

 more wary, keen-eyed, alert wild denizen of the forest 

 exists in any land than this noble bird, and any hunter 

 may well feel proud and elated when, by methods only 

 permissible to the true sportsman, matching his knowl- 

 edge and skill against the sagacity and cunning of this 

 thoroughly game creature, he succeeds in outwitting and 

 bringing to bag so splendid a quarry. Long may it be 

 preserved, the grandest of our feathered game, to orna- 

 ment our woods and rouse its echoes in the early spring 

 time with its rolling challenge, sounded from some lofty 

 perch, in defiance of its rivals or in response to the low 

 call of the female. 



Florida Wild Tur\^ey— Meleagris gaUopavo osceola. 

 Meleagris gallojxivo osceola, Scott. Auk, 1890, p. 376. 

 Habitat, Tarpon Springs, Florida, and about the south- 

 ern half of the Peninsula. Resembling 31. gallopavo, but 

 differing in having the white on the primaries and outer 

 secondaries in the shape of narrow broken bars not reach- 

 ing the shaft. The inner secondaries grayish brown with- 

 out bars and mottled with brown on inner webs. The 

 subspecies is found in the southern part of Florida, but 

 its exact range has not yet been definitely ascertained. 

 The type specimen came from Tarpon Springs, where it 

 was procured by Mr. Scott. It is a well marked race, 

 easily recognized from the common wild turkey by the 

 characters given above. It is abundant in the section of 

 the State it frequents, and is named after the celebrated 

 Seminole chief. 



Rio Grande Turkey— Meleagris gallopavo ellioti. 

 Meleagris gallopavo ellioti, Sennett, Auk, 1893, p. 167, 

 pi. III. 



Habitat, lowlands of southern Texas and eastern Mex- 

 ico. Distinguished from other turkeys by the ochraceous 

 buff tips on the tail and its upper and lower coverts, by 

 the deep blue black of the lower back destitute of the 

 brilliant metallic reflections of the other forms, and in 

 the female by the grayish tips of the feathers on the 

 upper parts, and the pale buff or grayish white edgings 

 of \hose on the under surface. The tips of the tail and 

 those of the upper coverts are paler than in the male. 

 This is a very strongly marked form of wild turkey, so 

 strongly characterized indeed in the female as would 

 warrant it, as I have already said, to be considered an in- 

 dependent species. There is no female turkey that I 

 have ever seen so peculiarly marked as is that sex of the 

 Rio Grande form, the nearest being the female of M. mex- 

 icana, but this bird has no gray edgings on the upper 

 back and only extremely narrow ones on the lower sur- 

 face. The general coloring of the feathers is also entirely 

 different. 



Mr. Sennett, who procured and described this new tur- 

 key, states that it is common on the coast, and in the low- 

 lands, from about the Brazos River in Texas, to Vera 

 Cruz, in Mexico, wherever timber and food are abundant, 

 up to an altitude not exceeding 2,000ft. above the level of 

 the sea. No evidence has been obtained that it inter- 

 grades with any other form, all tlie specimens procured 

 being remarkably alike, and exhibiting a conspicuous 

 ditt"(?rence from the other known kinds of wild turkeys. 

 It is a large bird, frequently weighing over 20lb3., and the 

 males are very handsome indeed in their metallic and 

 buff colored plumage. 



Mexican TurWey— Meleagris mexicana. 

 Meleagris ijiexicana. Gould Proc. Zool. Soc, 1856, 

 p. 61. 



Habitat, Rocky Mountains, from western Texas to 

 Arizona, and south along the table land of Mexico, above 

 an altitude of 3.000ft. 



The Mexican turkey can aUvays be recognized by the 

 broad white tips to the tail-coverts and tail. Tiie general 

 plumage is fiery copper, with black and green reflections, 

 and the primaries are barred with black and white like 

 those of 31. gallopavo, quite different from those of osceola 

 and ellioti. This bird is undoubtedly the source from 

 which all the domesticated strains with white-tipped 

 feathers arose. The jet black or bronze, domestic race, 

 were derived from the eastern wUd hird, but whenever a 



tame turkey is seen with these peculiar white or very 

 pale buff-tipped feathers, it is very certain it contains 

 some of the blood of the Mexican species. This turkey is 

 a bird of the highlands, rarely met with below 3,000ft. 

 above the level of the sea, and from that up to 10,000ft, 

 It is veiy common in the localities it frequents, often 

 met with in large droves; I have seen thirty or forty 

 of them together, and it does not differ in its habits 

 from the other species. When the Spaniards first entered 

 the City of Mexico they found extensive zoological gar- 

 dens maintained by the Emperor Montezuma, containing 

 nearly all the animals of his own country, as well as 

 others brought from a distance, and to the beasts of prey, 

 it was stated, that turkeys were supplied as food. High 

 livers and greatly favored we must regard these pets of 

 imperial majesty. When the turkey was first domesti- 

 cated in Mexico is not known, but its introduction into 

 Europe in the sixteenth century would show that it was 

 reclaimed from the wild state long prior to the advent of 

 Cortez. 



The Mexican turkey grows to a very large size and it 

 seemed to me that the average, judging from those I shot 

 and saw in New Mexico on the borders of Arizona, was 

 larger than that of our Eastern bird. The males are 

 very handsome, and especially conspicuous from the 

 amount of white, or buffy white, on the lower back and 

 tail. They are shot mainly from the roosts on moonlight 

 nights or in the early morning, and on account of the 

 lofty trees in those localities and the height at which the 

 birds perch, a rifle is the only weapon certain to reach 

 them and bring them to the ground. They are very 

 tenacious of life and many sorely wounded birds contrive 

 to effect their escape amid the shadows of the surround- 

 ing woods, or in the dense brush and thickets of the 

 mountains and valleys. I have treated this bird in this 

 paper as a species, although in the A. O. U. List it is con- 

 sidered only a subspecies of the common wild turkey. 

 Possibly the two forms may run together, but at present 

 it is not known that they do, and so I leave it as a 

 species. 



With the last species the list of wild turkeys known at 

 the ^present day to inhabit North America is exhausted; 

 but before bringing this article to a close it would per- 

 haps be well to say a few words upon the "noblest Roman 

 of them all," albeit he is not a North American citizen — the 

 gorgeous ocellated turkey of Yucatan and Guatemala. 



This wonderfully plumaged bird is slightly smaller than 

 our wild turkey, and is a native of the district lying be- 

 tween the base of the promontory of Yucatan and the 

 extensive forests which overspread the northern and east- 

 ern portions of Guatemala, and westward probably to the 

 lands bordering the Usumacinta and Rio San Pedro. It is 

 doubtful if it is found in the repubhc of Honduras. It 

 dwells in districts interspersed with open tracts and dense 

 forests, is even more shy and wary than our own bird, if 

 such a thing could be deemed possible, goes in small flocks, 

 and in its habits resembles closely our wild turkey. The 

 best description would give but a faint idea of this bird's 

 appearance, but the following may help one to recognize 

 it if seen for the first time: Head and neck deep blue, the 

 lower part of the sides and front of the latter covered with 

 bright red wartlike excrescences, A large, thick wattle 

 between the eyes, extending to the bill, and another pen- 

 dent over the biU, both deep blue, and terminating with 

 yellow excrescences. Similar wart-like excrescences over 

 the eyes and also between the eyes and the bill, bright 

 yellow. Feathers of upper part of back bright metallic 

 green at base, succeeded by a line of black and tipped 

 with yellow. Back and rump feathers blue at base, fol- 

 lowed by a line of black and broadly tipped with red, this 

 last color richest on the rump. Scapulars like the back. 

 Secondaries white, irregtdarly barred with grass green. 

 Primaries white, barred with brownish black. Shoulders 

 and smaller wing-coverts rich green, margined with black; 

 greater wing-coverts deep red. Upper part of breast 

 like the back. Flanks and lower parts generally black, 

 feathers tipped with brilliant red. Upper taU-coverts and 

 tail feathers light brown at base, mottled with black, fol- 

 lowed by an irregular bar or broad spot of deej) blue, 

 margined above and below with black, succeeded by a 

 line of yellowish; the remainder of terminal portions deep 

 red. The coverts are very long, extending half way down 

 the tail. Biff, legs and leet red. Such is the plumage of 

 this extraordinary bird, which far outstrips the peacocK 

 in gaudy apparel, and vies in its changing tints and bril- 

 liant metallic hues, resembling the rainbow in their 

 startling contrasts, with the hummingbirds, those fairy- 

 feathered jewels of the air. Various vain attempts have 

 been made to domesticate it, and it is not probable that it 

 will ever be, like its northeim relative, a familiar object 

 near the abodes of men. 



THAT WHITE RATTLESNAKE. 



Beatrice, Neb., Nov. 1. — In the issue of Oct. 38, "Dr, 

 Jes," of Douglas, Wyo., advances the theory that the 

 white rattlesnake I mentioned as being captured neai- here 

 was simply an ordinary rattler which was shedding his 

 skin. 



Mr. Chas. King, living 13 miles east of this city, has the 

 snake still alive, and yesterday I drove out to see it. Mr. 

 King's replies to my inquiries, I think, preclude any other 

 theory than that the snake is an albino. I saw it a few 

 days after he first captured it, and again yesterday, and I 

 can see no difference in the condition of the skin, although 

 about forty-five days, twice the time consumed in the 

 process of shedding the skin, have gone by. I stiU hold to 

 the theory I first advanced, that the snake is an albino, a 

 freak in a specimen of the common black prairie rattle- 

 snake. Mr. King tells me that the Smithsonian Institute 

 is corresponding with him and will probably secure the 

 little serpent for their collection. I hope this will be 

 brought about, so that Eastern readers of the FoREST and 

 Stream may see it too. fili-. King said: 



"I captured the white rattlesnake about Sept. 30, The 

 skin smooth and the color bright then, and I do not notice 

 any change now in the condition of skin or in the color 

 compared with the same at the time of capture. There is 

 no change in any way that I can detect up to the present 

 time (Nov. 13). The snake is perfectly healthy and Uve- 

 lier than is generally the case with a rattlesnake. I feed 

 it milk and water mixed, once in two or three days. It 

 does not lap the milk like a cat or dog, but puts its mouth 

 down in it and drinks after the manner of a horse 

 or cow and swallows very fast. If not disturbed it 

 will drink all it wants before leaving the dish 

 and then does not drink again for two or thyeg 



