Note 322 — NEW ENGLISH CANAAN OR NEW CANAAN. (continued 2)

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallipavo Americana) is mentioned by all the early writers as an abundant bird; but it disappeared almost as rapidly as the Indians, before the encroachment of the white settlers. Peabody, writing in 1839 (Report on the Fishes, Reptiles, and Birds of Massachusetts, p. 352), says: “It is still found occasionally in our western mountains, and also on the Holyoke range, where some are taken every year.” Its total extinction probably occurred only a few years later.