The Turkey is the only wild member of the Phasianidæ in this country, but the family is well-represented in the domesticated Chickens, Peacocks, and Pheasants, all of which have descended from Old World ancestors. Our domesticated Turkey is derived from the Wild Turkey of Mexico, which was introduced into Europe shortly after the Conquest and was thence brought to eastern North America. It differs from the Wild Turkey of the eastern United States chiefly in the color of the tips of the upper tail-coverts. These are whitish in the domesticated Turkey, as they are in the Mexican race from which, it has descended, and rusty brown in the Eastern Wild Turkey.
Besides the five races of Wild Turkey described beyond, another species of Turkey is found in America. This is the Honduras or Yucatan Turkey, now largely confined to the peninsula of Yucatan. It is not so large as our bird, but is even more beautifully colored, its plumage being a harmonious combination of blue, gray and copper.
Ring-necked and 'English' Pheasants have been introduced into various parts of the United States, and in Oregon and Washington and in the east, on various private game preserves, they have become naturalized. The true English Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is believed to have been introduced into England from Asia Minor probably by the Romans. Unlike the Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus torquatus) it has no white collar. The last named species, however, has also been introduced into England where it freely interbreeds with the earlier established English Pheasant and individuals without at least a trace of white on the neck are now comparatively rare.
The Curassows and Guans are tropical American birds, only one species reaching the southern border of the United States. They are arboreal in habit and form an interesting link between the Partridges, etc. and the Pigeons.
Bob-White and Partridge
| 289. Bob-white; 'Quail;' 'Partridge' (Colinus virginianus). L. 10. Ad. ♂. Throat, forehead and line over eye white. Ad. ♀. Throat, forehead and line over eye buff. Notes. Song, a ringing, whistled Bob-white or buck-wheat-ripe; calls, a conversational quit-quit and a whistled where-are-you and I'm here, repeatedly uttered when the individuals of a flock are separated. Range.—Eastern North America, resident from southern Dakota, southern Minnesota, southern Ontario, southern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, south to Georgia and western Florida; west to South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. "Introduced at various points in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, California and Washington." (A. O. U.) 289a. Florida Bob-white (C. v. floridanus). Similar to [No. 289], but smaller, L. 8.5, and much darker; black bars below more numerous. Range.—Florida; typical only in southern half of peninsula, grading into [No. 289] in northern and western parts of the state. 289b. Texan Bob-white (C. v. texanus). Similar to [No. 289], but brown and buff areas paler; black bars below wider. Range.—Texas, except western part, rarely to western Kansas, south to Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, Mexico. 291. Masked Bob-white (Colinus ridgwayi). L. 9. Ad. ♂. Throat black; breast and belly reddish brown. Ad. ♀. Resembles ♀ of [No. 289b]. Notes. Song, Bob-white; call, when the birds are scattered, hoo-we. (H. Brown.) Range.—Northern Sonora, Mexico, north to Pima County, Arizona. 296. Mearns Partridge (Cyrtonyx montezumæ mearnsi). L. 9. Ad. ♂. Sides with numerous, large, crowded white spots. Ad. ♀. Pinkish brown, above streaked with buffy and marked with chestnut and black, below with a few broken black bars. Notes. A low, murmuring whine; a clear dsiup-chiur, when alarmed, chuk-chuk-chuk. (Bendire.) Range.—Northern Mexico, western Texas, southern New Mexico and southern Arizona. |
Partridges
| 292. Mountain Partridge (Oreortyx pictus). L. 11. Ads. Hindhead and nape same color as back; inner margins of tertials buff. Notes. Song, an explosive whistle ending in a throaty tone; call, a rapidly repeated cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh, and a sharp pit-pit. Range.—Pacific coast from Santa Barbara, California, north to southern Washington. 292a. Plumed Partridge (O. p. plumiferus). Hindhead, nape, and foreback same color as breast; inner margins of tertials white. Range.—Sierra Nevada (both slopes), east to Panamint Mountains; and to Mount Magruder, Nevada; south in the coast ranges from San Francisco Bay to Lower California (Campos). (A. O. U.) 292b. San Pedro Partridge (O. p. confinis). Similar to [No. 292a], but upperparts much grayer, the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts being gray very slightly tinged with olive; bill stouter. (Ridgway.) Range.—San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California. 293. Scaled Partridge (Callipepla squamata). L. 10. Ads. Belly without chestnut patch; breast and foreback grayish blue edged with black; back brownish gray. Notes. A nasal pe-cos' pe-cos' (Bailey.) Range.—"Tableland of Mexico, from the Valley of Mexico, north to central and western Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico and southern Arizona." (A. O. U.) 293a. Chestnut-bellied Scaled Partridge (C. s. castanogastris). Similar to [No. 293], but ♂ with chestnut patch on belly; ♀ with belly much rustier than in ♀ of [No. 293]. Range.—Lower Rio Grande Valley, northwest to Eagle Pass, Texas; south into northeastern Mexico. 294. California Partridge (Lophortyx californica). L. 10. Ad. ♂. Above olive-brown; belly patch chestnut. Ad. ♀. Plumes shorter; throat whitish streaked with dusky; no distinct chestnut patch on belly. Notes. Song, a pheasant like crow and a crowing, emphatic sit-right-down', sit-right-down'; calls, a sharp pit-pit pit, and a note like that of a young Robin. Range.—"Coast region of California south to Monterey, introduced in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia." (A. O. U.) 294a. Valley Partridge (L. c. vallicola). Similar to [No. 294], but much grayer above; sometimes plain bluish gray without brown tinge. Range.—"From western and southern Oregon, except near the coast, south through western Nevada and the interior of California to Cape St. Lucas." (Bendire.) 295. Gambel Partridge (Lophortyx gambelii). L. 10. Ad. ♂. Throat, forehead and belly patch black; hindhead chestnut. Ad. ♀. Similar, but throat grayish buff; forehead gray; no black on belly; hind head brownish; crest smaller. Notes. Song, yuk-käe-ja. Range.—"Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah, southern Nevada, southern California in the Colorado Valley and south into northwestern Mexico." (A. O. U.) |