The Wild Turkey

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The male Wild Turkey is a large bird measuring 36 to 44 inches in length. Its body feathers are an iridescent bronze with black and white bars on its short, rounded wings. Its tail is large and shaped like a fan. Males have a spur on their legs that can be up to an inch in length. The tip of the tail can be white, brown or black depending on what part of the county it lives.

The Wild Turkey's head and neck are bare but it has a tuft of feathers, often called a beard, on its chest. The fleshy lobe of skin that hangs from its neck or chin is red and is called a wattle and the skin hanging from its beak is a snood. The fleshy growths on top of its head are called caruncles. The male's head changes in color from red to white to blue depending on the season.

The female is considerably smaller than the male. Its breast feathers are tipped with brown, white or gray, and she doesn't have a beard. The head is gray and the neck feathered.

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The Wild Turkey lives in hardwood and mixed forests with pockets of open areas such as pastures, fields and marshes. They can be found throughout the eastern United States from Canada to northern Mexico. They are rarely seen west of Arizona. They forage in the forests but move to the open areas to mate.

Although Wild Turkeys inhabit the woods, they move to the open areas along side the woods while mating. It gives them a good view of potential dangers and a easy means of escape.

The mating ritual of the Wild Turkey is an interesting sight to see. The male, called a Tom, gobbles to attract the females and can often be heard for miles. Once has the female's attention he fans his tail out and struts. While strutting around the females, he lowers his wings and drags the tips on the ground. He will willingly mate with more than one female.

The Hen builds its nest on the ground at the base of a tree or shrub. The nest is simply a shallow depression hidden in the grass. She lays 8 to 15 buff colored eggs and incubates them for 25 to 31 days. The chicks are called poults and are covered with down. They are precocial, which means they can feed themselves shortly after hatching. The male provides no parental care. Once hatched, the poults will follow the female. The males will remain near their mother through the fall and the females will be at her side until they nest the following spring.

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Wild Turkeys are omnivores. The main component of their diet is grass but it will forage on the ground for acorns, nuts, seed, and fruit as well. They will also consume insects, roots, and small invertebrates such as snakes and frogs.

Wild Turkeys roost in the trees at night. In the winter the roosts are segregated with the males in one and the females in another. The poults join the female in the roost as soon as they are able to fly.

The Wild Turkey is more likely to run than fly. They are quick on their feet, sprinting up to 18 miles an hour. While they are great flyers and can reach speeds up to 55 miles and hours, they can't keep it up. They are short distance flyers. When escaping a predator, they are better off on the ground.

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The adult male Wild Turkey gobbles much like the domestic turkey. The female has several different calls depending on the situation. When alarmed it's a pit, pit, pit! or a put-put! When calling the flock it's a keow-keow, and she clucks after her brood.

Listen to the sound byte of the Wild Turkey: Sound Byte: Wild Turkey, All About Birds Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Wild Turkey was hunted to near extinction in the early 1900's. Reintroduction programs have successfully reintroduced them into their original range. They are hunted for sport and are the favored game bird in many states.