This morning Jeff Morlan and I headed up to the top of Valencia Way looking for a reported Mountain Lion. No luck with that, but I was stunned to see this odd looking Wild Turkey which I assumed was probably a domestic variety or a domestic X wild hybrid. From further research I learned that this is not either of those, nor is it leucistic, but rather a rare recessive color morph called the "Smoke morph" that occurs in up to 1% of Wild Turkeys in some areas. The recessive gene must be inherited from both parents for the bird to display this plumage. Most of these birds are females as seen here. Hunters often call this plumage "smoky phase" but the term "phase" incorrectly suggests that it changes over time. As Bill Clark once said, "The moon has phases, birds have morphs."
