The Narragansett (fig. 5) generally resembles the Bronze in color
pattern, but has no iridescent red-green sheen and no bronzing. The
Narragansett colors are metallic black with light steel-gray edging and
barring bordered, in certain sections, by a narrow black band on the
end of the feathers. The plumage, as a whole, has a dark background of
metallic black with a broad, light steel-gray edging, showing more of
the light color in this edging as the body is approached. In the male,
the colors of the wing fronts, wing bows, and wing coverts are the
reverse of the colors found elsewhere, being light steel gray, ending
in a narrow band of black. The wing coverts form a broad silvery bar
across the folded wings. The neck and saddle are black, ending in a broad
steel-gray band. The back is rich metallic black, free from bronzing.
The breast, body, and fluff are black, the feathers ending in a broad
silvery-gray band edged with black. The large wing and tail feathers and
the primary coverts are barred with black and white similarly to those of
the Bronze, the barring of the upper secondaries becoming indistinct as
the back is approached.
The plumage of the female is similar to that of the male in this variety,
except that an extra edging of silvery gray is added to the ends of the
feathers on the back, wing bows, wing coverts, breast, and body. The
light edging should be narrow toward the front of the bird and broader
toward the rear. The female in general presents a lighter appearance than
the male. There should be a rich metallic black but no bronze barring
in either sex. The offspring of a Narragansett mating sometimes have a
bronze color, but such birds should not be kept for breeders.
[Illustration: Figure 4.--Bourbon Red turkey, male.]