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Bird Identification

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Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallapavo Length: 37" (female) to 46" (male)

Look For

The Wild Turkey is a surprisingly large bird, with a featherless head and all dark body perched atop stout pink legs. The dark body feathers can show shades of green, orange, and blue in direct sunlight, and the bare head skin also changes color, especially on males during their tail-fanning courtship display. Females are smaller, with gray, not pink, heads.

Listen For

Displaying males give a loud, distinctive gobble. Females call their young (known as poults) with a sharp tuk! tuk!

Find

The Wild Turkey seems to prefer mixed woods that contain acorn-producing oaks. Spring flocks may hold courtship displays in open fields or woodland meadows. Flocks roost in trees at dawn and dusk.

Remember

The Wild Turkey's large size and dark coloration make this species hard to confuse with any other bird. Spring is the best time to find Wild Turkeys because they are very vocal and very active.

Wow!

The wild turkey can fly surprisingly fast for such a large bird, but only for short distances. In flights of less than a mile, it may reach speeds of 55 to 60 miles per hour.

Wild turkey sounds provided courtesy of Lang Elliot, www.musicofnature.org. This profile is an excerpt from The Young Birder's Guide by Bill Thompson, III. Purchase an autographed copy from our nature store, and check out other BWD titles designed to help you identify backyard birds.

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