A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s2.1

v2.c80.s2.1

One of Jahangir’s chief retainers was Muqarrab Khan. Jahangir deputed him to go to the port of Goa and buy rare birds and animals from the Portuguese, regardless of cost. One of these rarities was the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Describing it Jahangir states, ‘It is larger than a peahen and smaller than a peacock. When it is in heat and displays itself, it spreads out its feathers like the peacock and dances about. Its beak and legs are like those of a cock. Its head and neck and the part under the throat are every minute of a different colour. When it is in heat it is quite red—one might say it had adorned itself with red coral—and after a while it becomes white in the same places, and looks like cotton. It sometimes looks of a turquoise colour. Like a chameleon it constantly changes colour. Two pieces of flesh it has on its head look like the comb of a cock. A strange thing is this, that when it is in heat the aforesaid piece of flesh hangs down to the length of a span from the top of its head like an elephant’s trunk, and again when he raises it up it appears on its head like the horn of a rhinoceros, to the extent of two finger-breadths. Round its eyes it is always of a turquoise colour, and does not change. Its feathers appear to be of various colours, differing from the colours of the peacock’s feathers.’²