. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. TOP-KNOt DUCK. All this no doubt vastly impresses those for The turkey is a polygamist, ^r^5*^5^? fights furiously with rival males, and is apparently fully conscious of the great beauty of his dark metallic plumage. The effect of this is further enhanced by the bare crimson- coloured skin of the head and neck and the curious finger-like appendage which depends from the forehead. When endeavouring to win the regard of his harem the turkey inflates this appendage, while at the same time the vivid red of the bare skin becomes
. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. TOP-KNOt DUCK. All this no doubt vastly impresses those for The turkey is a polygamist, ^r^5*^5^? fights furiously with rival males, and is apparently fully conscious of the great beauty of his dark metallic plumage. The effect of this is further enhanced by the bare crimson- coloured skin of the head and neck and the curious finger-like appendage which depends from the forehead. When endeavouring to win the regard of his harem the turkey inflates this appendage, while at the same time the vivid red of the bare skin becomes intensified. At this time, too, a certain peculiarly pompous air is assumed, the bird strutting about with its feathers set on end, the wings drooped, and the great wheel- shaped tail spread to its fullest extent. whom the display is made! With the rearing of the family the cock will have nothing to do, nor will he take any share even in the brooding of the eggs. The young, like those of all young game-birds, rapidly acquire the power of flight, the wing-quills appearing within a few hours after birth. There seems to be a certain fixity of character about the turkey, inasmuch as the breeder has only succeeded in producing about five strains, of which the American Bronze is perhaps the most celebrated, and the White the most beautiful. The most remarkable feature of these domesticated birds is their greatly increased weight. A cock of the American bronze breed may weigh as much as 45 lbs., whereas no wild turkey probably ever exceeds a weight of 30 lbs. What is the origin of the name " Turkey" is a question frequently asked, but as yet no definite answer is forth- coming. Certainly the bird has nothing to do with Turkey, having come from the New World. Originally it would seem this word was used for the guinea- fowl ; but the writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries confounding these two, the name ultimately attached itself to the better-known bird, perhaps,
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