56 
THE WILD TURKEY. 
Male, 49, 68. Female, 37, 54. 
Breeds from Texas to Massachusetts and Vermont. In the interior to the 
Missouri, and thence northward to Michigan. Common. Resident, thougdi 
removing to considerable distances in autumn, in quest of food. 
Adult Male. 
Bill shortish, robust, slightly arched, rather obtuse, the base covered by a 
bare membrane ; upper mandible with the dorsal outline arched, the sides 
convex, the edges overlapping, the tip a little declinate ; under mandible 
somewhat bulging towards the tip, the sides convex. Nostrils situated in 
the basal membrane, oblique, lineal - , covered above by a cartilage. Head 
small, flattened above, with a conical, pendulous, erectile caruncle on the 
forehead. Neck slender. Body robust. Feet longish and strong ; tarsus 
covered anteriorly with numerous transverse scutella, scaly on the sides, 
scutellate behind ; toes scutellate above, scabrous, papillar and flat beneath; 
hind toe elevated, half the length of the lateral toes, which are nearly equal, 
and much shorter than the middle toe ; claws slightly arched, strong, con- 
vex above, obtuse, flat beneath. A conical, rather obtuse spur on the tar- 
sus, about two-thirds down. 
Conical papilla of the forehead rugose, sparsely covered with bristles. 
Head bare, and corrugated, the skin irregularly raised, and covered with a 
few scattered bristles. External ear margined with short and slender thin 
feathers. Neck also bare, corrugated, beset anteriorly and below with a 
series of oblong, irregular, cavernous caruncles, interspersed with small 
bristly feathers. Plumage in general compact, glossy, with metallic reflec- 
tions. Feathers double, as in other gallinaceous birds, generally oblong 
and truncated. A pendulous tuft of long bristles from the upper part of 
the breast. Wings shortish, convex, rounded, the fourth and fifth quills 
longest. Tail rather long, ample, rounded, consisting of eighteen broad 
rounded feathers ; capable of being erected and expanded in a permanent 
manner, when the bird is excited, and reaching nearly to the ground, when 
the bird stands erect. 
Bill yellowish-brown. Frontal caruncle blue and red. Rugose and carun- 
culated skin of the head and neck of various tints of blue and purple, the 
pendulous anterior caruncles of the latter, or the ivattles, bright red, 
changing to blue. Iris hazel. Legs and toes bright purplish-red ; claws 
brown. Upper part of the back and wings brownish yellow, with metallic 
lustre, changing to deep purple, the truncated tips of the feathers broadly 
margined with velvet-black. On the middle and lower back, the black 
terminal bands of the feathers almost conceal the bronze colour. The large 
quill-coverts are of the same colour as the back, but more bronzed, with 
purple reflections. Quills brownish-black, the primaries banded with 
