- Meleagris gallopavo
Identification
Male 100–125 cm (39½-49¼ in); Female 76–95 cm (30-37½ in)
- Featherless, red head and throat
- Long red-orange to grey-blue legs
- Dark-brown to black body
- The head has fleshy growths.
- Males have red wattles on the throat and neck and rear spurs on their lower legs.
- Long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings.
- Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and grey.
Variation
Rare color morphs or forms do occur, such as Smoke-phase Turkey.
Distribution
Southernmost Canada, United States to central Mexico. As an introduced species it occurs in Hawaii, New Zealand, Germany, and the Czech Republic.
Due to hunting and other pressures, wild turkeys were in serious decline at the beginning of the 20th Century, but with conservation measures and management, have rebounded to a healthy population. They are still hunted throughout the U.S.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Six subspecies are recognized:[1]
- M. g. silvestris - Central and eastern USA
- M. g. osceola - Florida (local)
- M. g. intermedia - North Texas to east-central Mexico
- M. g. merriami - Western USA
- M. g. mexicana - Sierra Madre mountains, central Mexico
- M. g. gallopavo - Southern Mexico (Jalisco to Veracruz and south to Guerrero)
Three additional subspecies, fera, onusta and ellioti are generally considered invalid[2]
Habitat
Woods, open woods, fields, pastures, and shrubby growth.
Behaviour
Forages in small flocks, moving continuously over fairly large areas in search for food.
Diet
Grass and sedges, berries, seeds, insects and mast, depending on seasonal availability.
Breeding
The nest is a shallow scrape covered with woody vegetation. The eggs are usually laid at a rate of 1 per day, the clutch consisting of 10-14 eggs. Incubation lasts for at least 28 days. Males are polygamous, mating with as many females as they can.
Vocalisation
They make a variety of sounds, including the distinctive, loud gobble-gobble-gobble, which carries for considerable distance.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Lepage D. (2020) - Avibase. Retrieved 9 October 2020
- McRoberts, J. T., M. C. Wallace, and S. W. Eaton (2020). Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wiltur.01
- Birdforum Thread discussing Smoke-phase Turkey
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Wild Turkey. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Wild_Turkey
External Links
{GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
