Wild turkeys live in open, wooded areas, including fields, pastures, orchards, marshes and the edges of forests. (Matt Knoth/Flickr)
The wild turkey is a large, dark, ground-dwelling bird with a long neck and a fan-shaped tail. It lives in open, wooded areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Appearance:
Iridescent brownish or blackish plumage. Females have a duller overall color than males.
Males have a bare head and neck. The neck is bluish-gray and the head is red, blue or white depending on the season.
Females’ heads are gray. The head and neck are covered in hair-like feathers.
Males have a fleshy, wart-like appendage called a caruncle between the eyes. They also have a pink or red lobe of skin called a wattle that hangs from the neck or chin.
Males’ breast feathers are tipped in black and females’ breast feathers are tipped in white, gray or brown
Males have a tuft of rough, black feathers called a beard on their chest. The beard grows throughout the turkey’s life at a rate of about 4 inches per year. Adult male beards can be 8-12 inches long. Females usually do not have a beard.
Large, fan-shaped tail with a brown tip
Short, rounded wings with black and white bars
Long, powerful legs that vary in color from pink to gray. Males have sharp, bony spikes called spurs on the back of each leg. Females do not have spurs.
Males can grow to 3 feet tall, 4 feet long and weigh up to 25 pounds. Females are smaller, growing to about half the height and weight of males.
Habitat:
Lives in open, wooded areas, including fields, pastures, orchards, marshes and the edges of forests
May form bands of 30 or more birds. These groups sometimes become even larger in winter.
Range:
Found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed
State programs to trap wild turkeys and transplant them to other areas have helped rebuild and expand the population
Feeding:
Eats mostly acorns and other nuts, seeds, leaves and buds, but may also eat insects, spiders and salamanders
Forages on the ground by scratching with its feet to uncover food
Feeds two to three hours after dawn and before dusk
Predators:
Humans are the largest predator of wild turkeys
Bobcats, raccoons, eagles and owls also prey upon adult turkeys
Many types of birds, snakes and mammals feed on turkey eggs
Flight:
Turkeys can fly very swiftly; some have been recorded flying at speeds up to 55 miles per hour
Voice:
Males male a loud gobbling sound during courtship
Known to make at least 15 different types of calls, including yelps and clucks
Wild Turkey courtesy of Marla Greanya/Avian Vocalizations Center
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
Mates in early spring
Males perform an elaborate courtship ritual to attract females. The ritual includes gobbling loudly, fanning out their tail, strutting around the females, and dragging their wing tips on the ground.
Wild turkeys often locate their nest at the base of a tree that offers overhanging cover
Females begin laying one egg per day in mid-April. They lay a total of approximately 12 eggs, which they incubate for about four weeks.
Eggs usually hatch around the first week of June
Males do not help care for the young
Young chicks follow their mother out of the nest within one day of hatching. They quickly learn to feed themselves, and can fly by the time they are eight days old.
Young males stay with the female through autumn, and young females stay until the following spring.
On average, wild turkeys only live less than two years. However, some have been known to live as long as 13 years.
Other Facts:
Male turkeys are called “toms” or “gobblers” and female turkeys are called “hens.” Juvenile males are called “jakes.”
Very similar to domesticated turkeys, except wild turkeys are smaller, slimmer and have a longer neck and body.
Males can change the color of their head during breeding season to attract a mate and show dominance over other males
Approximately 5 percent of female turkeys have beards
Spurs on the back of males’ legs grow throughout the turkey’s life. Scientists and hunters use spurs to estimate a turkey’s age.
Wild turkeys have excellent eyesight and hearing, and can run very quickly
