618 U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS— ZOOLOGY— GENERAL REPORT. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. 
No. 
Sex. 
! 
Locality. When collected. 
! ■ 
Whence obtained. 
Orig. 
No. 
Collected by— 
Length. 
Stretch 
of wings. 
Wing. 
10322 
1196 
10029 
5748 
a 
a 
3 
<? 
Washington, D. C. .. Mar. — , 1855 
S. F. Baird . 
50. 00 
64. 50 
20. 00 
Keel fork of Arkansas. July — , 1850 
Republican river ! Oct. 16, 1856 
Capt. Sitgreaves . 
Lieut. Bryan 


381 
W. S. Wood 
MELEAGRIS MEXICANA, Gould. 
Mexican Turkey. 
Meleagris mexicana, Gould, Pr. Zool. Soc. 1856, 61. 
In the series of turkey skins before me, I find that all from the vicinity of the Rocky 
mountains differ strikingly from those east of the Mississippi in the feathers of the sides of the 
body behind, and in the upper and under tail coverts. These are all tipped with light brownish 
yellow for about half an inch, more or less, with the region, and the tail is tipped with the 
same. The chestnut ground of the tail and coverts is also considerably lighter. The gloss on 
the feathers of the rump is green, not purple. The coverts, too, lack in a measure the purple 
shade in the chestnut. The metallic reflections generally have rather more green than in the 
eastern bird. 
In one specimen (female, 10030, from Fort Thorn) the light edgings are almost white, and 
so much extended as to conceal the entire rump. All the feathers of the under parts of the 
body are edged broadly with white, and the tail is tipped with the same for more than an 
inch. This specimen also has the head considerably more hairy than in the eastern skins, but 
the others from the same region do not differ so much in this respect from eastern ones. 
Whether these differences can be considered as establishing a second species for the United 
States is a question yet to be decided. It is certain that these peculiarities are constant in all 
before me, while the eastern skins all agree precisely in their characteristics as described. The 
New Mexican turkeys, with white tips to the tail feathers and coverts, correspond, in a very 
striking degree, with the 31. mexicana of Gould. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Whence obtained. 
10030 
5147 
5148 
Fort Thorn, New Mexico 
