58 
THE BIRDS OF WISCONSIN. 
country. Referring back to 1840, we find that this species 
was the common prairie grouse of southern Wisconsin, and 
was at that time extremely abundant. Thure Kumlien had 
been a resident of Wisconsin several years before he saw a 
specimen of what is now our common prairie chicken. 
Dr. Hoy in 1852 says, "formerly quite common near Racine, 
now seldom met with." Mr. J. N. Clark writes us from Dunn 
County, "quite common up to about 1885, but now (1902) 
becoming very rare. Saw it last in 1900. Have never found 
it in company with the pinnated grouse, which is common 
here now." A few sharp-tails were found about Stevens 
Point in 1898, and scattered records have been received from 
Markesan and other points in the north central part of the 
state. The last record we have for southern Wisconsin is 
near Janesville, October, 1869 (specimen preserved). At the 
present time it is found in any numbers only in isolated 
sections of the central and northwestern part, and is probably 
doomed to speedy extinction in the state. 
FAMILY PHASIANID/E: PHEASANTS, ETC 
Meleagris gallopavo fera (Ticilh). WILD TURKEY. 
The wild turkey is to-day so rare in Wisconsin that it is 
safe to say that it is extinct. Authentic references are meagre 
and fragmentary. Dr. Hoy and others say it was abundant in 
southern Wisconsin prior to 1810. Several references, of 
which Hoy's is one of the most reliable, state that the winter 
of 1812 was practically fatal to them. The explanation as given 
is that "snow was yet two feet deep in March, with a stout 
crust, so that the turkeys could not get to the ground. They 
became so poor and weak that they could not fly, and thus 
became an easy prey to the wolves, foxes, wild cats, minks, etc.. 
which exterminated almost the entire race" (1). Dr. Hoy 
speaks of turkeys last being seen at Racine in November, 1816. 
A fine specimen was shot at Waukesha in 18-17. Mr. Skavlem, 
of Janesville, tells us that the last known record for Rock 
County was in the town of Newark, in 1854. Thure Kumlien 
had no records for Lake Koshkonong later than 1812. Said to 
have been killed in some numbers in the southwestern part of 
the state as late as 1850-58. Residents of the extreme south- 
western counties claim that a few were found among the bluffs 
near the river as late as 1894, and it is highly probable that 
1. Hoy. Large animals,— time of their disappearance." History of 
Walworth Co., Wis., 1882. p. 138. 
