Description

Distinguishing Features - Weight: 16 - 55 kg. Male Wild Turkeys have a dark, iridescent body; flight feathers are black with brown stripes and are barred with white; red wattles, a caruncle, and a blackish breast tuft, the wattle comprises the fleshy lobes hanging down from the chin or throat; caruncle is the wart-like projections of the skin attached to the upper part of the forehead; legs are spurred and spurs can grow as long as 3.175 cm. ; leg scales are pink, pinkish gray, or silver gray; adult head is red, blue, or white depending on the season.

Female Wild Turkeys are smaller and duller than males, and lack a breast tuft. Females also have a grayish head and the back of the neck is feathered. Hens are usually smaller and weigh between 16.5 - 26.5 kg.

Habitat

Nearctic: one of the widest ranges of distribution among North American game birds; found from the western and southern United States to the Atlantic seaboard and New England; infrequent in southern Canada; mixed coniferous and deciduous forests; agricultural fields, orchards, and seasonal marshes.

Diet

Primarily seeds, nuts, acorns, buds, berries and insects.

Notes

The Wild Turkey is a very cautious bird with good eyesight and hearing. It is also a swift runner and one of the fastest flying game birds alive, recorded flying 88 kph.

Return to Top of Page