THE 1942 STATUS OF WILD TURKEYS IN MISSOURI 429 the initial inventory showed 23 flocks totaling 142 birds, the much more careful second survey disclosed 26 flocks totaling 165 birds. This indicates an accuracy of 86 per cent in the first coverage, and is probably typical of the whole inventory. Since the figures which follow are based on the actual field data, they are undoubtedly conservative. PRESENT TURKEY POPULATION Table 1 compares the turkey population by counties in 1942 with that estimated by Bennitt and Nagel (I) in the winter of 1934-35. The present total of 4,340 birds shows approximately a 20 per cent increase over the 1935 figure of 3,585 birds. In terms of density, Leopold in 1931 (7) estimated an average density of 1.4 square miles per turkey, Bennitt and Nagel 2.8 square miles per bird over 9,907 square miles, and the present inventory 1.6 square miles per bird over approximately 7,000 square miles. Originally the turkey range covered the entire state. Turkeys were apparently still abundant in parts of the northern counties until long after their settlement, as indicated by the report of Bogardus (3) that he and two others killed over 50 in three weeks on Shoal Creek in Clinton County, northwestern Missouri, in 1866. In northeastern Missouri there were turkeys in a few favored localities until 1895 and in one locality in Macon County until 1908. The last deer, on the other hand, disappeared from north-eastern Missouri by 1882, 25 years before the last turkey. By about 1910, the turkey range had been reduced to the Ozark region and the southeastern lowlands, and in 1935 turkeys were found in only 45 of the 114 counties of the state. Today only 31 counties are known to contain turkeys, and of these only 17 contain more than 6 flocks each, although the total number of birds has increased slightly. It has taken a little less than 100 years to eliminate the turkey over 83 per cent of its original range in Missouri. The present occupied range amounts to approximately 7,000 square miles in the Ozark region. Only one small remnant can now be found in the southeastern lowlands, and the encroachment of settlement and agriculture may ultimately eliminate the species from that region, thus further reducing the range. Figure 1 shows the present locations of all flocks and their relative sizes. The 596 flocks recorded show the following distribution by size classes: TABLE 1.—COMPARISON BY COUNTIES OF THE 1942 AND 1934-35 INVENTORIES OF WILD TURKEYS County No. of flocks No. of birds- 1942 1942 1934-35 Taney 92 744 130 Ozark 74 569 320 Reynolds 34 326 100 Shannon 36 251 110 Howell 36 239 350 Dent 34 210 400 Texas 33 202 260 Carter 31 193 220 Phelps 21 185 50 Douglas 27 191 140 Oregon 28 172 65 Crawford 23 163 100 Barry 19 150 50 Stone 24 146 20 Ripley 12 78 90 Christian 15 77 10 Laclede 6 60 15 Iron 8 53 40 Wright 5 51 20 Mississippi 6 42 50 Madison 4 36 80 Wayne 5 34 130 Maries 3 31 20 Benton 4 24 20 Warren 2 22 25 Polk 1 19 Camden 1 18 150 Pulaski 3 16 90 Butler 4 26 30 Washington 3 10 40 Gasconade 2 2 25 Bollinger 20 Cape Girardeau 15 Dunklin 60 Franklin 100 Hickory 10 Jefferson 10 Miller 20 Morgan 20 New Madrid 50 Osage 15 Pemiscot 10 Perry 30 St. Francois 10 St. Genevieve 50 Stoddard 15 Totals 596 4,340 3,585 No. of birds Per cent 1-5 38 6-10 41 11-15 17 16-20 4 Figure 2 presents the same data in terms of population density. Information concerning the three zones of density, that were recognized on the basis of number of birds per township, may be summarized as follows: