128 
THE TURKEY. 
when they again congregate, and recommence their 
rambles. 
“ About the middle of April, when the weather is 
dry, the female selects a proper place in which to 
deposit her eggs, secured from the encroachment of 
water, and, as far as possible, concealed from the 
watchful eye of the crow : this crafty bird espies the 
hen going to her nest, and having discovered the 
precious deposit, waits for the absence of the parent, 
and removes every one of the eggs from the spot, 
that he may devour them at leisure. The nest is 
placed on the ground, either on a dry ridge, in the 
fallen top of a dead leafy tree, under a thicket of 
sumach or briars, or by the side of a log ; it is of a 
very simple structure, being composed of a few dried 
leaves. In this receptacle the eggs are deposited, 
sometimes to the number of twenty, but more usual- 
ly from nine to fifteen ; they are whitish, spotted 
with reddish brown, like those of the domestic bird. 
Their manner of building, number of eggs, period of 
incubation, & c. appear to correspond throughout the 
Union, as I have received exactly similar accounts 
from the northern limits of the turkey range, to the 
most southern regions of Florida, Louisiana, and the 
western wilds of Missouri. 
“The female always approaches her nest with 
great caution, varying her course so as rarely to 
reach it twice by the same route ; and, on leaving 
her charge, she is very careful to cover the whole 
with dry leaves, with which she conceals it so art- 
