Pintados (Guinea-fowls) have remarkably small heads for their size; beak and neck short; the tail equally short and drooping; the tarsus very low, and destitute of spurs; body round; wings short and concave; on the head is a hard crest of a reddish blue, sometimes replaced in mature birds by a tuft; the wattles are fleshy, and hang under the beak.
The Common Guinea-fowl ([Fig. 176]) has a slate-coloured plumage, covered with white spots; it is indigenous to Africa, and its introduction into Europe dates from far-distant times; it was known to the Greeks and Romans. The former made it an emblem of paternal affection. According to Greek writers, the sisters of Meleager felt such grief at the death of their brother, that Diana, to terminate their woes, changed them into Guinea-fowls. The goddess, wishing that their plumage should bear the trace of their tears, marked it with white spots.
Fig. 176.—Guinea-fowl (Numida cristata, Latham).
The Romans, who highly esteemed the flesh of these birds, propagated them with the greatest care to figure at their feasts, but after the invasion of the barbarians they disappeared from Europe, and during the Middle Ages we never hear of them. The Portuguese re-discovered them in Africa on their return from the Indies, and again imported them into Europe, where they have since multiplied to a great extent. But the turbulent and quarrelsome character of these birds and their noisy and discordant cries are serious obstacles to their becoming favourites; they have also ceaseless quarrels with the Hens and Turkeys, their neighbours, and although not so strong as their antagonists, they fight them fearlessly. They have been seen to attack the young of other birds, and split their skulls with a blow of their beaks. They show great attachment to their own young, yet they occupy themselves but little with the cares of a family; consequently their progeny is generally brought up by Hens or Turkeys. Although bad nurses, their fecundity is very great, and when well fed they lay as many as a hundred eggs in a year: these are much sought after, and epicures prefer them to those of the Hen. Their flesh, though good, is not so much esteemed. There are now several species known in a wild state in Africa, and in a domestic state in Europe. They are numerous in Arabia, where they are found in the neighbourhood of marshy places, in little bands composed of a male and several females. Transported into America after the discovery of that continent, the common variety is now perfectly acclimated there, and is even to be found wild in some of the vast forests and savannahs of that country.
Turkeys are birds of large size, easily distinguished from other Gallinacean fowls by the following characteristics:—Bare heads and necks, decorated with fleshy appendages—those of the neck, which fall under the head in front of the bird, are capable of being inflated and much enlarged under the influence of love or anger; a brush of long and straight hairs hangs at the base of the neck; the tarsi are strong, and provided with slightly-developed spurs; lastly, the tail is round, of moderate length, and at the will of the bird can be expanded like a fan.
The Turkey was originally imported from North America, where it still lives in a wild state; it is frequently met with in the forests which border the large western rivers of that country, such as the Mississippi, Missouri, and the Ohio, and it must be studied there to acquire a correct idea of its habits. The Domestic Turkey is not so handsome in plumage as is the Wild, but the former generally much exceeds the latter in size. The colour of the Wild Turkey is brown, mixed with blue and green, giving out a diaphanous metallic brilliancy. The full-grown male bird sometimes measures over three feet, and weighs from twenty to twenty-five pounds. The American naturalist, Audubon, speaks of having seen one which was upwards of thirty-six. The female is much smaller, and seldom exceeds ten pounds in weight: her plumage cannot vie with that of the male in splendour. Although it does not appear constructed for the purpose, the mature bird is capable of taking considerable flights, passing with ease in its wild state across such gigantic rivers as the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri, which in every direction traverse and bisect the middle portion of the great North American continent; but it, as a rule, only takes wing when all other means of locomotion are denied, for it runs with surprising rapidity, distancing the common cur dog with ease, and only abates its speed after a lengthened pursuit. It accomplishes long journeys on foot; not, however, caused by atmospheric influence, but want of sustenance in the country which it inhabits. It is generally towards the beginning of October that these migrations commence. The Turkeys then unite in troops of from ten to a hundred individuals, and go towards the regions which they have chosen for their new abode; the males form a separate drove from the females, which march at their sides, surrounded by their young families. The necessity of protecting their young from the brutality of the old cocks, who will kill them if opportunity offers, inspires the hen Turkeys with this habit. It sometimes happens that the emigrating band are stopped by a water-course, when all evince great agitation by spreading their tails, uttering frequent gobbles, and yielding themselves to extravagant demonstrations. At the end of a day or two, after having inspected the neighbourhood, they mount upon the branches of some of the highest trees, and take to the wing to traverse the obstruction. Some of the young ones always fall into the water, but they know perfectly how to swim: when all have reached the opposite bank they run hither and thither as if they were mad, and from their recklessness at this time it is very easy to approach and kill them. These birds pair in February or March, according to latitude; the females produce eggs six weeks afterwards. At this time the hen secretes herself in a place unknown to the male, as he would break the eggs. The nest is an indentation in the ground, lined with soft grasses, moss, and dry leaves, and in it are deposited her embryo progeny, which are sat upon with perseverance deserving praise. In this respect they are superior to all Gallinaceous fowls, even surpassing the Domestic Hen. When the mothers leave their eggs to seek food they are always careful to cover them with leaves, the better to screen them from the sight of the Fox, Lynx, or Crow. The incubation lasts about thirty days. As the time for hatching approaches, no power can make the mother leave her nest, no peril will cause her to desert her charge. On being hatched, the young Turkeys, under the protecting care of the old bird, are led to sequestered feeding grounds, and do not leave her till the end of several months. Wild Turkeys have many formidable enemies, the most destructive being Man, next the Lynx and the Eagle Owl; they are, therefore, very distrustful, and when on the ground secrete themselves at the least appearance of danger; but if perched upon a tree they are less guarded, and consequently can be more easily approached by the sportsman. On a misty, moonlight night American hunters take their posts under trees where Turkeys commonly perch. In this situation the game will receive several discharges without making the slightest attempt to escape, although numbers of them in succession may have been killed. It is difficult to explain this apparent apathy, especially when we know their hurry to fly before the Owl. It is doubtless owing to the want of sagacity which they manifest under these circumstances, as well as to their ludicrous aspect and eccentric attitudes, that Turkeys have gained the reputation of stupidity. This bird, however, sometimes gives proofs of intelligence, as the following fact, related by Audubon, shows. He had raised a Wild Turkey from its most tender age, which had become extremely tame, but the love of independence remained very strong in the bird, for it could not accustom itself to the pent-up life of its domestic relations. Thus it enjoyed the greatest freedom; it went and came, passing nearly all its time in the woods, only returning to the house in the evening. At length it ceased to come back, and from that moment dispensed with visiting its birth-place. Some time after, Audubon, whilst hunting, perceived a superb Wild Turkey, upon which he set his dog; but, to his great surprise, the bird did not fly, and the dog, instead of seizing it when it was overtaken, stopped and turned his head towards his master: greater still was the hunter's surprise when, having approached, he discovered his ancient pensioner. This Turkey had recognised the dog, and understood that it would do him no harm, otherwise it would have scampered off immediately.
Fig. 177.—Wild Turkey.
Turkeys feed upon herbs, grasses, fruits, and berries of every description; they are partial to beech and other nuts; and their liking for wheat and maize is such that they frequent the neighbourhood of cultivated fields, where they make the greatest ravages. They also occasionally feed upon insects, frogs, and lizards. The large destructive grub familiarly known as the Tobacco Worm they are particularly partial to, and are consequently much encouraged by the tobacco planters. In a domestic state they are even known to have killed and eaten rats. One curious peculiarity in the history of the Turkey is its horror of red; the sight of a scarlet object throws it into the most comical fury. It is needless for us to vaunt the flesh of the Domestic Turkey; every one is agreed on this subject. We will only say that, from the testimony of many travellers and naturalists, the flesh of a Wild Turkey, killed in winter or spring, before laying, is far superior to that of the Domestic bird, those coming from Southern Indiana and Illinois being considered by Americans as the finest. The Turkey, being indigenous to America, was naturally unknown to the ancients. The precise date of its introduction into France is not recorded. According to some, it was at the end of the fifteenth century; to others, only at the commencement of the sixteenth. Anderson affirms that the first Turkeys raised and eaten in France were served at the marriage of Charles IX., in 1570.