2-982-234 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Honduras Turkeys, in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, Regent's Park, 1858. 'Two specimens, male and female, of that magnificent bird, the Meleagris ocellata of naturalists...were presented to the Queen by Mrs. Stevenson, of Belize...The Meleagris ocellata is a species which far surpasses in beauty both its near allies, the Meleagris gallopavo and M. Mexicanus. These three fine and highly valuable birds are all natives of that part of the American continent lying between the Isthmus of Panama and the United States. It will be truly gratifying should the society succeed in naturalising this splendid bird, and there appears to be a chance of such a fortunate result, as since the birds have been in the gardens they have shown a desire to continue the race, and the female has laid an egg. The immediate localities of which the Meleagris ocellata is a native are the fine forests of Honduras and Yucatan, where it may be regarded as the southern representative of the Mexican and United States' species. At the present moment the birds in the society's menagerie are in beautiful condition, and are well worthy of a visit from all lovers of natural history'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.