248 
VERTEBRATA. 
when tlie female utters a call, every male within hearing responds, rolling note after note in the 
most rapid succession ; not as when spreading the tail and strutting near the hen, but in a voice 
resembling that of the tame turkey when he hears any unusual or frequently repeated noise. 
Where the turkeys are numerous, the woods, from one end to the other, sometimes for hundreds 
of miles, resound with this remarkable voice of their wooing, uttered responsively from their roosting 
places. This is continued for about an hour ; and, on the rising of the sun, they silently descend 
from their perches, and the males begin to strut for the purpose of winning the admiration of their 
mates. If the call of a female be given from the ground, the males in the vicinity fly toward the 
individual, and, whether they perceive her or not, erect and spread their tails, throw the head 
backward, distend the comb and wattles, strut pompously, and rustle their wings and body-feath- 
ers, at the same moment ejecting a puff of air from the lungs. While thus occupied, they occa- 
sionally halt to look out for the female, and then resume their strutting and puffing, moving with 
as much rapidity as the nature of their gait will admit. During this ceremonious approach, the 
males often encounter each other, and desperate battles ensue, when the conflict is only termi- 
nated by the flight or death of the vanquished. The usual fruits of such victories are reaped by 
the conqueror, who is followed by one or more females, which roost near him, if not upon the 
same tree, until they begin to lay, when their habits are altered, with the view^ of saving their 
eggs, which the male breaks if he can get at them. These are usually from nine to fifteen in 
number, sometimes twenty, whitish, and spotted with brown like those of the domestic bird. The 
nest consists of a few dried leaves placed on the ground, sometimes on a dry ridge, sometimes in 
the fallen top of a dead leafy tree, under a thicket of sumach or briers, or by the side of a log. 
The females are particularly attentive to their young. 
The habits of the domestic turkey are well know^n ; the common effect of domestication in 
changing the colors of birds, as well as other animals, is conspicuous in this species, there being 
various mixtures of buff, black, and white. The flesh of this species ranks among the best of do- 
mestic fowls, and immense numbers of them are produced, especially in the United States, 
THE HOXDCTEAS TURKET. 
The Honduras or Ocellated Turkey, M. Mexicana, is a beautiful species, nearly as large as 
the preceding, recently discovered in Central America ; the plumage is of a lustrous coppery- 
green, each tail-feather being furnished with a blue eye-spot, surrounded by a black ring. Speci- 
mens have recently been presented to the London Zoological Gardens. 
