646 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 28, 19x1. 
Mexican Wild Turkeys in California 
By W. J. De LONG 
duck shooting profitable, and the colored 
brother loots the field in vast numbers. Many 
of the country stores near cities would give 
him ten cents for any small bird, such as quail, 
dove, snipe etc., and it was much more agree¬ 
able to roam about with a gun than work in the 
fields. I have known good shots among them 
who were well armed and dogged. Many 
Northern men went South for five or six months 
and made expenses with their guns, usually in 
ducks. Sometimes they shipped shad to help 
out. Years ago the ducks would come into a 
flowed rice field early in the afternoon, par¬ 
ticularly in rainy or misty weather. I have 
seen them trade in and out nearly all day. The 
market hunters changed this with the help of 
the negroes who would often fire at ducks half 
a mile in the air. The shooting at dusk was par¬ 
ticularly effective in spoiling the sport, as noth¬ 
ing seems to alarm these birds (and well it may) 
as a long stream of fire shooting up from the 
muzzle of the gun into the growing darkness. 
At last they would not come in to feed until it 
was black dark. In crossing from one planta¬ 
tion to another late at night I have been in the 
midst of thousands of mallards; ducks rising 
and quacking within twenty yards, but in that 
vast level plain it was impossible to sight a 
feather; the horizon was far away and they did 
not rise above it. No one who has not experi¬ 
enced it can appreciate the joy, the perfect 
pleasure of lying out on a cold January evening, 
the stillness, the absolute quiet of that great 
stretch of level bottom land miles from the 
higher ground or upland. It was usually some¬ 
thing of a job to cross the face ditch around the 
square (field), but there would be only a few 
inches of water over the stubble between the 
quarter drains (narrow ditches across, the field 
at short intervals). A blind could be made of 
dead weeds, not too thick or dense, and a good 
big bunch of weeds or straw to kneel upon. It 
was so still that all the land seemed lifeless and 
one noticed the slight sounds made by the chilly 
wind. Under such conditions the far off 
whisper of the ducks’ wings could be heard at 
a great distance, often from the rear, and one 
did not dare to move a muscle. 
Mallards and blackducks were usually very 
fussy in selecting their feeding ground. A flock 
of old mallards would go around the square 
again and again, sometimes even dropping their 
feet into the water and then rising again in 
doubt. Frequently they would give it up and 
go on to the next field, but all this preliminary 
business was very exciting. 
The lively time came with the arrival of the 
teal. High in the air and flying at immense 
speed, they pitched down without circling the 
field, and after darting across would alight al¬ 
most anywhere. If the light was failing it re¬ 
quired the quickest of snap shooting to stop 
them, as they appeared but for an instant and 
were lost to view. 
It was fascinating sport and usually short, a 
long wait and a quick rally. We had been be¬ 
hind the dogs all day in pursuit of quail or snipe 
and woodcock, and were worn and weary. It 
seemed a long time before one reached the old 
abandoned house, but we would find a good 
fire blazing. But enough of this! Such good 
times come again no more. 
A fine crop of wild grapes this year, but not 
appreciated, apparently. 
T RANSPLANTING the black Mexican wild 
turkey from its native habitat in the 
mountainous regions of Sonora, Mexico, 
to the vast mountain regions of California bids 
fair to be a complete success. 
This turkey, as its name indicates, is entirely 
black in plumage. Whi'e some of those at the 
farm are light bronze, shading almost to white, 
yet the best specimens seem to be always black. 
By selection of the dark birds for breeders, they 
have almost eradicated the tendency to breed 
light. They are a little taller and slimmer 
than the specimens of the Virginia wild turkeys 
at the farm. The accompanying picture of a 
black yearling hen is a good specimen as they 
are bred at the farm. 
Three years ago the Game and Fish Commis¬ 
sion of California purchased sixteen of these 
MEXICAN BLACK WILD TURKEYS AT THE 
birds. The first season they were not very suc¬ 
cessful in propagating them; the second year 
proved a little better, and last season they had 
150 birds to be sent to the forest reserves of 
this State, twenty-two hens remaining at the 
farm for breeding purposes. They lost two 
during the season, and from the twenty re¬ 
maining they had on Aug. 15 530 young birds 
old enough to send to the reserves, and about 
300 not yet old enough to go out. 
In 1910 the birds sent out were liberated in 
the Sequoi Forest Reserve and General Grant 
Park, from which excellent reports have been 
sent out by Forest Ranger Walter Fry to 
Major James R. Hughes, First Cavalry, sta¬ 
tioned at the reserve. Nests, eggs and young- 
turkeys have been seen in these reserves. They 
seemed to be thriving and were scattered over 
a wide range. The birds at the farm have be¬ 
come nearly as tame as the domestic bronze 
turkey. However, they walk less and use their 
wings more than their domestic cousins. 
The birds sent out this season will be ac¬ 
companied by an experienced man who will 
choose the most favorable localities to liberate 
them in, feeding at night for a time and shoot¬ 
ing at them in the day time with blank car¬ 
tridges to show them the danger of coming into 
close contact with man. 
Among other places they will be liberated 
this season is the Sequoi Forest Reserve, the 
General Grant Reserve, the Big Basin Reserve. 
the Monterey Reserve and the Mesa Grande 
Reserve in San Diego county, then a few will 
be sent to the Siskiyou Mountains in the ex¬ 
treme north end of the State. Because of the 
turkey's habit of roosting in high trees, it is 
looked upon as having better than an even 
chance of gaining a foothold in the vast forests 
of this State. 
California is infested with more enemies of 
bird and fowl life than any State in the Union. 
The lynx and bobcat inhabit the State from the 
Oregon line to Lower California, and while 
these large areas of waste land with our mild 
climate furnish the best of breeding grounds 
for deer and the game birds, it affords even 
better breeding grounds for their enemies. A 
friend kTed seven lynxes in one day within a 
half mile of the electric cars running out to 
STATE GAME FARM AT HAYWARD, CAL. 
the suburban towns around Oakland. No 
strictly ground-nesting game bird, such as the 
bobwhite or prairie chicken, will progagate 
successfully in this State. It is the opinion of 
many that a liberal bounty should be placed on 
these enemies of bird life and a State-wide 
crusade inaugurated to rid our State of these 
pests. 
The State will reserve eighty hens at the farm 
for breeders the coming season and attempt to 
produce 3.000 birds for liberating purposes next 
season. They will be rigidly protected for sev¬ 
eral years and will surely furnish a large amount 
of sport in years to come. 
Signs. 
BY C. A BRYANT. 
There’s a promise of frost in the feel of the air. 
The ducks are beginning to come; 
The quail’s call is heard, and in woodlands fair 
Echoes the partridge’s drum. 
The frogs crawl under the stones at night, 
The bass are biting at noon; 
From off the lake, where the mist lies white, 
Comes the quavering cry of the loon. 
A hound’s bugle note floats up to the moon, 
His quarry’s afoot in the night; 
The scent lies warm in the track of the ’coon 
As he speeds through the wood in his flight. 
There’s promise of sport that autumn will yield, 
That shall gladden the hearts of us all, 
As we wander at will through wood and field 
In the golden days of the fall. 
A Mexican Wild Turkey. Five Hundred and Thirty Young Turkeys. 
