THE WILD TURKEY. The turkey belongs to the genus _meleagris_, and,
though now known as a domestic fowl in most civilized countries, was
confined to America until after the discovery of that country by
Columbus. It was probably introduced into Europe by the Spaniards about
the year 1530. It was found in the forests of North America, when the
country was first settled, from the Isthmus of Darien to Canada, being
then abundant even in New England; at present, a few are found in the
mountains of Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey; in the Western and
the Southwestern States they are still numerous, though constantly
diminishing before the extending and increasing settlements.
[Illustration: THE WILD TURKEY.]
The wild male bird measures about three feet and a half, or nearly four
feet, in length, and almost six in expanse of the wings, and weighs from
fifteen to forty pounds. The skin of the head is of a bluish color, as
is also the upper part of the neck, and is marked with numerous reddish,
warty elevations, with a few black hairs scattered here and there. On
the under part of the neck, the skin hangs down loosely, and forms a
sort of wattle; and from the point where the bill commences, and the
forehead terminates, arises a fleshy protuberance, with a small tuft of
hair at the extremity, which becomes greatly elongated when the bird is
excited; and at the lower part of the neck is a tuft of black hair,
eight or nine inches in length.
The feathers are, at the base, of a bright dusky tinge, succeeded by a
brilliant metallic band, which changes, according to the point whence
the light falls upon it, to bronze, copper, violet, or purple; and the
tip is formed by a narrow, black, velvety band. This last marking is
absent from the neck and breast. The color of the tail is brown, mottled
with black, and crossed with numerous lines of the latter color; near
the tip is a broad, black band, then a short mottled portion, and then a
broad band of dingy yellow. The wings are white, banded closely with
black, and shaded with brownish yellow, which deepens in tint toward the
back. The head is very small, in proportion to the size of the body; the
legs and feet are strongly made, and furnished with blunt spurs, about
an inch long, and of a dusky reddish color; the bill is reddish, and
brown-colored at the tip.
The female is less in size; her legs are destitute of spurs; her neck
and head are less naked, being furnished with short, dirty, gray
feathers; the feathers on the back of the neck have brownish tips,
producing on that part a brown, longitudinal band. She also,
frequently, but not invariably, wants the tuft of feathers on the
breast. Her prevailing color is a dusky gray, each feather having a
metallic band, less brilliant than that of the cock, then a blackish
band, and a grayish fringe. Her whole color is, as usual among birds,
duller than that of the cock; the wing-feathers display the white, and
have no bands; the tail is similarly colored to that of the cock. When
young, the sexes are so much alike that it is not easy to discern the
difference between them; and the cock acquires his beauty only by
degrees, his plumage not arriving at perfection until the fourth or
fifth year.
The habits of these birds in their native wilds are exceedingly curious.
The males, called _Gobblers_, associate in parties of from ten to a
hundred, and seek their food apart from the females, which either go
about singly with their young, at that time about two-thirds grown, or
form troops with other females and their families, sometimes to the
number of seventy or eighty. These all avoid the old males, who attack
and destroy the young, whenever they can, by reiterated blows upon the
skull. But all parties travel in the same direction, and on foot, unless
the dog or the hunter or a river on their line of march compels them to
take wing. When about to cross a river, they select the highest
eminences, that their flight may be more sure, and in such positions
they sometimes stay for a day or more, as if in consultation. The males
upon such occasions gobble obstreperously, strutting with extraordinary
importance, as if to animate their companions; and the females and the
young assume much of the same pompous manner, and spread their tails as
they move silently around. Having mounted, at length, to the tops of the
highest trees, the assembled multitude, at the signal note of their
leader, wing their way to the opposite shore. The old and fat birds,
contrary to what might be expected, cross without difficulty, even when
the river is a mile in width; but the wings of the young and the meagre,
and, of course, those of the weak, frequently fail them before they have
completed their passage, when they drop in, and are forced to swim for
their lives, which they do cleverly enough, spreading their tails for a
support, closing their wings, stretching out their necks, and striking
out quickly and strongly with their feet. All, however, do not succeed
in such attempts, and the weaker often perish.
The wild turkeys feed on maize, all sorts of berries, fruits, grasses,
and beetles; tadpoles, young frogs, and lizards, are occasionally found
in their crops. The pecan nut is a favorite food, and so is the acorn,
on which last they fatten rapidly. About the beginning of October, while
the mast still hangs on the trees, they gather together in flocks,
directing their course to the rich bottom-lands, and are then seen in
great numbers on the Ohio and Mississippi. This is the _turkey-month_ of
the Indians. When they have arrived at the land of abundance, they
disperse in small, promiscuous flocks of both sexes and every age,
devouring all the mast as they advance. Thus they pass the autumn and
winter, becoming comparatively familiar after their journeys, when they
venture near plantations and farm-houses. They have even been known, on
such occasions, to enter stables and corn-cribs in quest of food.
Numbers are killed in the winter, and preserved in a frozen state for
distant markets.
The beginning of March is the pairing season, for a short time previous
to which the females separate from their mates, and shun them, though
the latter pertinaciously follow them, gobbling loudly. 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 of a female be given from the ground, the males in the
vicinity fly toward the individual, and, whether they perceive her or
not, erect and spread their tails, throw the head backward, and distend
the comb and wattles, shout pompously, and rustle their wings and
body-feathers, at the same moment ejecting a puff of air from the lungs.
While thus occupied, they occasionally halt to look out for the female,
and then resume their strutting and puffing, moving with as much
rapidity as the nature of their gait will admit. During this ceremonious
approach, the males often encounter each other, and desperate battles
ensue, when the conflict is only terminated by the flight or death of
the vanquished. The usual fruits of such victories are reaped by the
conqueror, who is followed by one or more females, that roost near him,
if not upon the same tree, until they begin to lay, when their habits
are altered, with the view of saving their eggs, which the male breaks,
if he can get at them. These are usually from nine to fifteen in number,
sometimes twenty, whitish and spotted with brown, like those of the
domestic bird. The nest consists of a few dried leaves placed on the
ground, sometimes on a dry ridge, sometimes on the fallen top of a dead
leafy tree, under a thicket of sumach or briers, or by the side of a
log. Whenever the female leaves the nest, she covers it with leaves, so
as to screen it from observation. She is a very close sitter, and when
she has chosen a spot will seldom leave it, on account of its being
discovered by a human intruder. Should she find one of her eggs,
however, sucked by a snake, or other enemy, she abandons the nest
forever. When the eggs are near hatching, she will not forsake her nest
while life remains.
The females are particularly attentive to their young, which are very
sensitive to the effects of damp; and consequently wild turkeys are
always scarce after a rainy season. The flesh of the wild turkey is much
superior to that of the domestic bird; yet the flesh of such of the
latter as have been suffered to roam at large in the woods and in the
plains is, in no respect, improved by this partially wild mode of life.