WILD TURKEY. 167 
a great many are destroyed by the hunters, although 
they are then least valuable. 
When the turkeys have arrived in their land of 
abundance, they disperse in small flocks, composed of 
individuals of all sexes and ages intermingled, who 
devour all the mast as they advance : this occurs about 
the middle of November. It has been observed, that, 
after these long journeys, the turkeys become so familiar 
as to venture on the plantations, and even approach so 
near the farmhouses as to enter the stables and corn- 
cribs, in search of food ; in this way they pass the 
autumn, and part of the winter. During this season 
great numbers are killed by the inhabitants, who 
preserve them in a frozen state, in order to transport 
them to a distant market. 
Early in March they begin to pair,* and, for a short 
time previous, the females separate from, and shun 
their mates, though the latter pertinaciously follow 
them, uttering their gobbling note. The sexes roost 
apart, but at no great distance, so that, when the female 
utters a call, every male within hearing responds, rolling 
note after note, in the most rapid succession ; not as 
when spreading the tail and strutting near the hen, but 
in a voice resembling that of the tame turkey, when 
he hears any unusual or frequently repeated noise. 
Where the turkeys are numerous, the woods from one 
end to the other, sometimes for hundreds of miles, resound 
with this remarkable voice of their wooing, uttered 
responsively from their roosting places. This is continued 
for about an hour; and, on the rising of the sun, they 
silently descend from their perches, and the males begin 
to strut, for the purpose of winning the admiration of 
their mates. 
If the call be given from the ground, the males in the 
vicinity fly towards the individual, and, whether they 
perceive her or not, erect and spread their tails, throw 
the head backwards, distend the comb and wattles, 
strut pompously, and rustle their wings and body feathers, 
at the same moment ejecting a puff of air from the 
lungs. Whilst thus occupied, they occasionally halt to 
