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Turkeys belong to the family Meleagrididae. There are two birds in the turkey family: the common or domestic turkey and the wild turkey.
HISTORY
The common turkey was domesticated by Mexican Indians in the early 1500s. In 1541, the turkey traveled to England, where the bird was renamed the "turkeycock," and became a popular sight-seeing tourist attraction. Turkeys were bred for their plumage-only until the early 1900s, when the domesticated turkey became a favored meat.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Turkeys have long hairless necks and small, hairless, red heads. Bodies are oval and dark in color, usually brown or black. Tail feathers can be raised, at which time a colorful plumage fans out from the backside of this bird. The legs of the turkey are long and thin.
Male turkeys or "gobblers" are 50 inches long and weigh 20-25 pounds. Female turkeys or "hens" are generally half the size. The male turkey has a "wattle" on the underside of the bill and a "snood," a warty-looking, fleshy, red growth that extends from the forehead to the bill. These distinct characteristics make it easy to differentiate between the sexes.
Domestic turkeys are generally much larger than their wild counterpart due mainly to feeding habits and medications of breeders. Domesticated turkeys are about twice the size of wild turkeys.
LIFESTYLE
Wild turkeys live in heavily wooded areas near water. In North America, the wild turkey exists in the eastern and southwestern regions of the United States and Mexico. Wild turkeys sleep or rest in large trees during the evening hours, where they remain largely unseen by predators.
Wild turkeys are omnivorous, surviving on a diet of seeds, small insects, acorns, leaves, grains, berries, grass, roots, bulbs, frogs, lizards, snails and worms. This non-migratory bird wanders and scavenges for food, often scratching at ground leaves or dirt to expose food.
The wild turkey can fly, if need be, but only for short distances. If threatened or in fear, this bird is most likely to use its powerful legs to run for cover. The wild turkey can fly distances of about 1/4-mile at a time. Males also have the unique ability to change their head color when startled or excited. The normally bright red head turns white when the wild turkey gets excited, and then bright blue.
The voice of the wild turkey is loud. Males produce a heavy "gobbling" noise, just like the domestic turkey. Male and female wild turkeys also use a variation of calls to express fear, call young, and signal others.
REPRODUCTION
Wild turkeys mate in the spring. The male produces a loud gobbling call to attract a mate. During courtship, the male turkey does a dance, swells up his face wattle, struts, pulls out his feathers and makes a loud humming noise. Once they have mated, the female lays 10-18 eggs in a ground nest and waits through the 25-30 day gestation period. It is not uncommon for several female birds to share the same nest, taking turns laying on the communal eggs.
Once born, the young leave the nest almost immediately. Females teach the young to forage for food during the first few days of life. By two weeks of age, young turkeys can provide food for themselves. At just a few months, they will be full-grown.
TODAY
The wild turkey has been introduced successfully to more than 20 states in North America in the last decade. After an over-eager hunting crowd diminished the population of the wild turkey in the early 1900s, this bird has finally begun regroup and repopulate its species. The wild turkey is still hunted during the late fall each year.
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