Phasianida:. 
400 Gallin.e.— BIRDS. 
black ring. This be.mlifiil bird measures about 
eighteen inches in total length. It is an inhabitant of 
Malacca and the adjacent islands. 
THE TIBETAN POLYPIECTRON [Pohjplectron Tibe- 
tanus), a species nearly allied to the preceding, is 
about twenty-two inches long, and inhabits the moun- 
tains of Tibet, probably extending into China. Its 
colour is brown, barred on the lower surface with 
blackish-brown, and mottled above with gra 3 'ish-white. 
The feathers of the wings, except the primary quills, 
are each adorned near the tip with beautiful eye-spots 
of blue, changing in certain lights to purple, and 
exhibiting an opaline lustre. Each of these spots is 
surrounded by a narrow black circle, and beyond this 
with one of yellowish-white. Each feather of the two 
ranges forming the tail is adorned with a pair of 
similar, but larger spots, which, however, scarcely 
equal those of the wings in brilliancy. 
TURKEYS. 
THE COMMON TURKEY {Meleagris Gallopavo). The 
birds which we include under this category are the 
True Turkeys and the Guinea Fowl, which are dis- 
tinguished from the rest of the Phasianidae by tlieir 
short pendant tails, and the naked wattled skin with 
which the whole of their heads and the greater part of 
their necks are covered. 
The Common Turkey is a well knorvn itdiabitant 
of our poultry-jmrds, in which his large size and 
uncouth gestures when endeavouring to pay court to 
the females of his seraglio, render him a conspicuous 
object. This bird, unlike all the preceding species of 
the present family, is a native of North America, in the 
less frequented parts of which it is still to be met with 
in a wild state. The wild birds are larger and finer 
than the generality of our domesticated individuals; 
the adult male measures about three feet and a half in 
length, and his black plumage exhibits metallic purple 
and bronzed-green tints of lar greater brilliancy than 
any we are in the habit of seeing upon the finest of 
our domestic specimeus. The quill-feathers, both of 
the wings and tail, are variegated with buffy- white in 
the wild as in the tame specimens ; the head and all 
the front of the neck are covered with a bare I'ed skin, 
adorned in parts with bright blue tints, and swelling 
out towards the base of the neck into a sort of lobulated 
wattle, which is capable of considerable distension 
when the bird is excited. Above the base of the 
bill there is a subcylindrical fleshy appendage which 
is also capable of being distended, and then hangs 
down in a curious manner at one side of the bill. The 
breast exhibits a tuft of long black liairs. 
The wild Turkeys are met with in flocks in the 
forests of North America ; the old males keeping b}' 
themselves, and the females, with theirj’oung associates, 
in larger parties. These keep as much as possible out 
of the way of the adult males, the latter taking every 
opportunity' of maltreating, and even destroying the 
younger individuals of their own sex. They are 
poh'gamous in their habits, and during the breeding 
season the males display themsidves before the females 
in exactly the same way as the domesticated birds. 
strutting about with their tails spread and erected, 
their wings drooping to the ground, their heads drawn 
back, and their wattles dilated, uttering at the same 
time that peculiar gobbling sound which must be 
familiar to all our readers. The whole demeanour of 
the bird under these circumstances betrays an almost 
convulsive state of excitement, which, however, he 
seems to find so delightful, that in order to prolong it 
he will, if possible, destroy the eggs laid by the female 
so as to prevent her sitting, and thus removing herself 
from his attentions. The female accordingly always 
selects some secret place for the reception of her eggs ; 
and those who keep Turkeys are well aware that this 
tendency to laj' in out of the way places has not been 
eradicated in the hen Turkey by domestication. It is 
said that sometimes several females deposit their eggs 
in the same nest, so that one or inore may always be 
on the spot to protect them. 
The food of the wild Turkey consists of seeds and 
fruits of all kinds, grass, and insects. It seeks its food 
and passes most of its time upon the ground, but roosts 
at night upon the branches of trees. Its power of 
ilight is, however, but limited, and, when, in journeying 
from one part of the country to another, a flock of 
these birds comes to a river, they mount to the tops of 
the highest trees on the bank, and from this position 
of vantage, take flight for the opposite shore. Even 
with this precaution, however, many of the weaker 
individuals often fall into the water. 
THE OCELLATED TURKEY {Meleagris ocellata), 
the only other known species of this genus, is a native 
of Honduras, where it does not seem to be very 
abundant. It is about the size of the common Turkey, 
but far more splendid in its tints. The general colour 
of the plumage of the body is a bronzed-green, with 
each feather bordered wth two lines, the first of which 
is black, and the outer one golden- bronze. The 
greater wing-coverts are bright chestnut, and the 
quills elegantly variegated with black and white. The 
upper tail-coverts and the quill-feathers of the tail are 
brownish-gray, mottled and banded with black, but 
towards the extremity each of them exhibits a band of 
variable gveen and blue, bounded above and below 
by a strong black line, and be 3 'ond this the tip of the 
feather is of the most beautiful coppery or bronzed- 
golden colour, so that, as these feathers are arranged 
in four ranges one above the other, the whole tail 
exhibits four transverse rows of brilliant eye-like spots. 
The naked skin of the fore part of the head is red, and 
exhibits an elongated wattle above the base of the bill 
as in the common Turkey; that of the neck is livid, and 
its lower part is not lobulated. 
THE GUINEA FOWL Plate 19, 
fig. 72 — another well-known domestic species, has the 
head and neck naked, the crown of the head adorned 
with a hard black casque, and the base of the bill 
furnished with large wattles. The general colour of 
the plumage is pearly-gray, mottled all over vvith 
small white spots. The tarsi have no spurs. This 
bird is a native of the wanner parts of Africa, where it 
is usually met with in small flocks or families, but at 
some seasons these unite to form large companies. It 
is a restless and quarrelsome bird, and very noisy, 
