278 
WILD TURKEYS 
Each call extends over a period of two seconds and is repeated at fre- 
quent intervals.” This is evidently very unlike the emphatic boom-ah - 
boom of the true Prairie Hen, and this pronounced difference in notes 
suggests that possibly the eastern and western birds are not so closely 
allied as their resemblance in plumage would lead one to believe. 
308. Pedioeeetes phasianellus phasianellus {Linn.). Sharp- 
tailed Grouse. Similar to P. p. campestris but much darker and the black 
areas larger and more prominent than the ochraceous ones, the latter deeper, 
more rusty. 
Range. — Cen. Alaska and nw. B. C. e. through cen. Keewatin to cen. 
w. Ungava, and s. to Lake Superior and the Parry Sound district, Ont.; 
casual e. to Saguenay River, Que. 
SE. Minn., formerly present, now wanting. 
308b. Pedioeeetes phasianellus campestris Ridgw. Prairie Sharp- 
tailed Grouse. Ad. &. — Prevailing color of the upperparts ochraceous- 
buff, barred and irregularly marked with black; no neck tufts; outer web of 
the primaries spotted with white; middle tail-feathers projecting about an 
inch beyond the others, ochraceous-buff and black; throat buffy; breast 
with V-shaped marks of black; sides irregularly barred or spotted with black 
or buffy; middle of the belly white. Ad. ?. — Similar, but smaller; the middle 
tail-feathers shorter. L., 17*50 ; W., 8*50; T., 4*50; B. from N., *50. 
Range. — S. Alberta and s. Man. to Wyo., Kans., and n. 111. 
Nest , on the ground. Eggs , 11-14, creamy buff or pale olive-brown, 
generally slightly spotted with fine, reddish brown markings, 1*65 x 1*22 
(Bendire). Date, Carberry, Man., June 3. 
There is more or less confusion in regard to the names Prairie Hen 
and Prairie Chicken, but where the two species are found together I 
have found that the former is applied to Pedioeeetes and the latter to 
Tympanuchus. In central Nebraska, I found this species inhabiting 
the sand-hills while the Prairie Chicken {Tympanuchus) was nesting 
in immediately adjoining bushy bottom-lands. In Saskatchewan it 
lived among the rose-bushes near the borders of streams. When 
‘dancing’ the male inflates a pink sac, utters a bubbling crow, rattles 
its tail-quills, etc. The whole performance is well described by Seton, 
as quoted by Bendire, and by Cameron {Auk, 1907, p. 256). 
32. Family Meleagrid^. Turkeys 
This distinctively American family contains only two species, the 
Yucatan Turkey {Agriocharis ocellata) and our Wild Turkey. The 
former is confined to Yucatan and the adjoining portions of Guatemala 
and Honduras, and, except in isolated instances, has defied all attempts 
at domestication. The latter ranges from southern Mexico northward, 
and is represented by five subspecies as follows: (1) Meleagris gallopavo 
gallopavo of southern Mexico; (2) M. g. merriami of northern Mexico, 
southwestern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado; 
(3) M. g. intermedia of northeastern Mexico north to middle northern 
Texas; (4) M. g. osceola of southern Florida, and (5) M. g. silvestris,. 
our Wild Turkey, which, formerly, extended as far north as southern 
