352 
WILD TURKEY. 
it is probable that Ms intellectual qualifications have not been 
fairly appreciated, as he is susceptible of very lively emotions. 
If any new and remarkable object attracts the attention of the 
male, his whole appearance and demeanour undergo a sudden 
and extraordinary change : relinquishing his peaceful aspect, 
he boldly raises himself, his head and neck become turgid, and 
the wattles, from an influx of blood, glow with vivid red ; he 
bristles up the feathers of the neck and back, his tail is verti- 
cally raised and expanded like a fan, and the wing-feathers are 
extended until they touch the ground. Thus transformed, he 
utters a low, humming sound, and advances with a grave and 
haughty strut, occasionally accelerating his steps, and, at the 
same time, rubbing the tips of the primary feathers violently 
against the earth. During these manoeuvres, he now and then 
utters a harsh, interrupted, and dissonant note, apparently ex- 
pressive of the highest degree of rage : this cry, sounding like 
rook^ oorook^ oorook^ will be repeated at the pleasure of any 
person who should Avhistle, or strike the ear of the bird by any 
other acute or unusual sound. The appearance of any red 
cloth is sure to awaken his anger, and induce him to rush fear- 
lessly on the disagreeable object, exerting all his power to 
injure or destroy it. 
In connexion with the peculiar character of this bird, we 
may advantageously quote the sentiments of the great Frank- 
lin, who expressed a regret that the turkey should not have 
been preferred to the bald eagle as an emblem of the United 
States. Certainly this eagle is a tyrannical and pusillanimous 
bird, by no means an appropriate representative of a great and 
magnanimous nation, as was the eagle chosen by the Romans. 
“ Others object to the bald eagle, says Franklin, in one of 
his letters, “ as looking too much like a dindon, or turkey. 
For my own part, I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen 
as the representative of our country ; he is a bird of bad moral 
character ; he does not get his living honestly ; you may have 
seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish 
for himself, he watches the labour of the fishing hawk, and. 
