A few years more this handsome bird, which was at one time found in great abundance over nearly the whole of the Eastern Province of the United States, will be numbered with the things that were. Its final extinction is only a question of time, and that not very remote. In the days of Audubon it was found along the entire range of the Alleghanies, where individuals do still exist, but they have been so molested by man, that they can only be approached with the greatest difficulty. At present they are quite abundant in the unsettled parts of our Southern and Western States, and in the regions drained by the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. In New England it has probably become extinct. The same may doubtless be predicated of portions of our Middle Atlantic States. To be sure there are localities where individuals may occasionally be observed, but with the construction of railroads, and the settlement of the country which invariably follows, we may expect the same fate to overtake them. Dr. Woodhouse met with the species in abundance in all the timbered portions of Texas and the Indian Territory, and Mr. Dresser found it common enough in the districts of Mexico and Texas which he visited. This was especially the case on the rivers between San Antonio and the Rio Grande.

Not migratory in the sense in which many of our smaller species are, yet these birds are addicted to roaming from one locality to another. These movements always occur in flocks of varying numbers, and have reference to food-matters. Where the supply of mast becomes exhausted, an advance is ordered towards richer pastures. If there is an abundance of food, the large flocks dissolve into smaller ones, composed of individuals of all ages and sexes. A paucity of the same, brought about by deep snows, induces the birds to approach the haunts of man, where they obtain a subsistence by consorting with the poultry, or by entering the open doors of corn-cribs.

When the young are nearly grown, in October, the adult females—which dwell apart from their lords, each at the head of her numerous family—gather in the rich bottom-lands of our Western rivers. These families unite with others, until parties of seventies and eighties are the final results. The old males associate in parties of from twenty to a hundred, and move simultaneously into the same territories, but are carefully avoided by the mother-birds, on account of the hatred which the former bear towards their nearly grown children. This un parental disposition, which leads the males to destroy their offspring, is more especially vented upon the young males, and is doubtless inspired by jealousy.

The migration are mostly made on foot. But when a stream intervened; a stay of one or two days upon its banks occurs before any attempt is made to cross. The manouvres of the old males are then rather ludicrous. They parade themselves up and down the banks, utter to each other their characteristic gobble, as if to raise their courage to the point necessary to surmount the barrier. The females and the young assume in less degree the same demeanor. After this lengthy preparation, both young and old mount to the summit of a tall tree, and at the leader's signal, wing their flight for the opposite shore. Some, however, overcome by fatigue, drop into the water. These, with wings close-pressed to the body and expanded tail, call their legs into vigorous action, and soon gain the shore, where they are at length able to extricate themselves from the perilous situation. If the stream is wide, the birds are often thrown into a state of bewilderment, and become easy victims to the hunter's rifle. Advantage is not only taken of these movements, but from the fact that the birds are hard to approach in the daytime, many a gunner by watching where they roost, on clear, moonlight evenings is often able to secure two or three plump fellows for his trouble. Like our domestic Turkey, these birds roost on trees as high up as possible. Various contrivances are often adopted to lure them to their destruction. In the spring, a very common practise is to imitate the voice of the female by drawing the air through one of the wing-joints, the second usually, the sound produced being immediately answered by the male, who ventures out of his place of concealment, only to be shot. The cry of the Barred Owl is also imitated in localities which these birds frequent at night, with the most happy results. A trap known as a Turkey-pen is a very common mode of capture in some parts of the country. This is a covered enclosure, made of small trees of various sizes and of moderate heights. At one end a small opening is left, through which is dug a slight trench, sloping gradually from each extremity to the centre, and continued outwardly for a brief space. For a short distance from the enclosure a passage-way is constructed. This, with the interior of the pen, and a narrow tract of land stretching into the forest, is scattered with corn. Attracted by the grain, the birds follow it into the enclosure, and when once there, become bewildered, or lack the intelligence necessary to make their exit. While in this predicament, many are captured. .

But as the love-season approaches, man abandons the amusements of the chase, and these severely persecuted creatures are allowed a chance to cultivate social relations. Early in February the males present their suits, but at first meet with little favor. Still they persist, until their patience is rewarded with success. When these amours commence, the sexes are dwelling apart. If a call is emitted by a perching female within hearing of a male, a response is returned in a voice akin to the sounds with which our domestic bird greets any ordinary noise. But let the female utter the same note while on the ground, and she is soon besieged by several of her masculine admirers, each striving to demonstrate the sincerity of his affection. With wide-spread, erected tails, depressed and quivering wings, and head gracefully poised and carried well back upon the shoulders, they parade themselves with great pomp in front of the females, who regard such movements, for the nonce, with listlessness or disfavor. All the while the males are thus engaged, they give expression to their feelings in a succession of peculiar puffs. Considerable excitement often attends these love-affairs. Especially is this the case when some hitherto listless female becomes impressed with the pleadings of a particular male. This is the signal for the fiercest encounters, which usually result in some one or more of the participants being killed. When one rival has thus destroyed another, the surviving party, as if feeling remorse, caresses the fallen one with the ten derest affection.

Having mated, the union thus formed usually lasts during the season, although instances are recorded where the same male has been known to possess more than one partner. The female is endued with finer feelings than her lord and, when concerned with domestic relations, continues to keep her treasures hid, well knowing the propensity which he manifests for destroying the same. Consequently, the selection and building of a nest fall exclusive to her lot. At the close of the love-season, the males cease to gobble, and being considerably emaciated, desert the females, and go off by themselves. When they have recuperated their energies, they return, and reunite in small flocks.

About the middle of April the females prepare their nests in secluded localities. These are placed upon the ground, and consist of a few dry leaves placed in a depression by the side of a prostrate log, under a mass of brushwood in a thicket, within the precincts of a corn-brake, or in such places as afford the necessary shelter. Dry spots are always selected. Suited with locality, the female deposits her eggs daily until the entire complement is raised, when she enters the nest, and for nearly four weeks is a close sitter. When she leaves it for food, she always takes the precaution to cover her eggs with leaves, to guard against detection. Small islands are frequently chosen for nesting purposes. The large masses of driftwood which accumulate about their heads, are said to give them security from their numerous enemies.

So closely attached to home is the female, that she will not leave it unless in peril. The approach of human footsteps is unheeded, where no danger is to be apprehended. Its discovery by man is not considered as sufficient cause for desertion, but she is known to forsake it when the egg's have been broken. In such cases another nest is prepared, but otherwise only one brood is annually raised. The most friendly feelings are known to exist among the females during the breeding-season. Several hens have been known to deposit their eggs in the same nest, and rear their broods together. Audubon once met with forty-two eggs in a single nest, the labors of three females, one of whom being always on guard. When the eggs are nearly hatched, the female remains a very vigilant watcher, and will leave the nest under no circumstances. In short, she has often permitted herself to be captured rather than endanger her treasures. Weak, delicate creatures as the young are, it is doubtful that they could extricate themselves from their calcareous coverings, were it not for the timely efforts of the parent. Not only in this manner does she show her love, but also by fondling and drying them, and assisting them to leave the nest. Her cares are now quite manifold. She must needs lead them into suitable feeding pastures, teach them to distinguish good from bad food, and protect them from enemies. Besides, she is careful to keep them from getting wet, which is detrimental to their early lives. At the age of two weeks, they follow the mother with facility, roost upon the same bough with her at night, and seek their food in the daytime. Their diet at first consists of small berries of different kinds, and insects. To this somewhat restricted bill of fare, grass, corn, seeds, fruit, beetles, tadpoles and lizards are added, as they weekly mature. The dry leaves of the woods are turned over with their feet, for they are somewhat rasorial in their habits. Like their parents, the young are able to go for several days without food, which is occasionally the case after a heavy fall of snow. At such times, in the unsettled parts of our country, both young and old associate with domesticated birds, when quarrels often ensue, which chiefly result in favor of the former. Attempts to tame these birds have been made, but with only partial success. Under confinement birds are apt to lose the brilliancy of their plumage in the third generation, and display in places an intermingling of white feathers throughout the pale brown which they then assume. In the cut accurate representations of the sexes appear, the female differing from the male in being of smaller size, in having less brilliant colors, in the much smaller fleshy protuberance above the base of the bill, and in the absence usually of the pencil of bristles on the breast, and of spur. From the Mexican variety—the supposed parent of the tame species—it differs in having the upper tail-coverts chestnut, but without the light tips, and in having the ends of the tail feathers scarcely paler, instead of brownish-yellow or whitish. The male bird ranges from forty-eight to fifty inches in length, and weighs from sixteen to thirty-five pounds. The wing is twenty-one inches long, and the tail eighteen and a half. The female is smaller proportionally, and weighs about thirteen pounds.

The eggs are usually from eight to fifteen in number, but sometimes amount to eighteen, and even twenty. They are of an elongate oval form, obtuse at one extremity, and pointed at the other. Their ground-color is a dark cream, and there are pretty generally scattered over the surface rounded spots of umber-brown. In dimensions they are apt to differ, even in the same nest-full. Specimens vary from 2.25 to 2.58 inches in length, and from 1.74 to 1.89 in width. In no portion of its habitat is the species other than single-brooded, although nests with eggs are occasionally found in June, but these are due to delays caused by various contingencies.

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