116 
THE WILD TURKEY. 
jealous disposition, and extremelj^- selfish. He 
likes to have her strut about with him in the 
forest, and bestow all her time and attention 
on himself. So be does not wish her to make 
a nest ; and breaks her eggs whenever he can 
find them. In consequence of this unamiable 
trait in his character, the mother bird is 
driven to build her nest in some secret place, 
and not let him know where it is. She makes 
it of dried leaves, and generally places it on 
the ground, by the side of a log, or dead 
tree, that has been beaten down* by the 
wind. All the time she is doing it, her 
partner wonders where she is gone ; and calls 
out to her with a loud gobble. But she keeps 
quite quiet, and makes no response. 
At night, the hen turkeys roost together on 
the same tree ; and if one utters a call, her 
partner, who is roosting not far off, answers 
her ; and the rest take up the note, one after 
the other, in quick succession, until sometimes 
the forest resounds, for hundreds of miles, with 
their strange gobbling voices. 
When the mother turkey has made her 
nest, — and this does not take her long, — she 
has to lay her eggs, and hatch them. Her 
