Description.—Head small, flattened above, with a pendulous caruncle on the forehead; bill short, slightly arched, rather obtuse; neck bare and beset with a series of irregular caruncles; a tuft of long bristles pendant from the upper part of the breast; the body robust; feet long and strong; a conical obtuse spur on the tarsus, about two-thirds down; wings shortish, convex, and rounded; tail long, ample, and rounded, capable of being erected and expanded in a permanent manner when the bird is excited.

Colour.—The skin of the head and neck various tints of blue and purple; upper part of the back and wings yellowish brown, with metallic lustre, changing to deep purple; the truncated tips of the feathers broadly margined with velvet black; the lower part of the back and the tail coverts are deep chestnut, banded with green and black; the under parts are duller; the legs and toes bright purplish red, claws brown.

Size.—Four feet one inch in length; extent of wings five feet eight inches; middle toe five, hind toe two inches; pectoral appendage ten or eleven inches.

Weight.—The ‘gobblers,’ as the male birds are termed, weigh from eighteen to thirty pounds, the hens from fourteen to eighteen pounds.

OF all birds which in America are considered game, the largest is the wild turkey. It is the national bird, truly indigenous, and, in the opinion of Benjamin Franklin, should have been the American emblem.