Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallapavo) Biology

HISTORY

The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a member of the bird order Galliformes which also includes grouse, pheasants, partridge and quail. This wild turkey species is the largest game bird in North America and is subdivided into five groups, or subspecies. The five subspecies are the eastern turkey (M.g. silvestris), the Florida turkey (M.g. osceola), the Gould's turkey (M.g. mexicana), the Rio Grande turkey (M.g. intermedia), and the Merriam's turkey (M.g. merriami). These subspecies may be recognized by their slightly different appearance and their geographic location within North America. By 1930, 30,000 North American wild turkeys were evident only in a few southern states, their numbers drastically reduced over the years by habitat destruction and market shooting, eliminating them in most locations. Through expeditious wildlife management conducted by state and federal wildlife agencies and by the National Wild Turkey Federation, populations were restored in 43 states, and quickly expanded to 2 million turkeys in the country by 1980.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The three subspecies found in California are the Rio Grande, the Merriam's, and the eastern. There is also a California hybrid which may have developed from the original hybrids and other crosses. To identify the subspecies, one must consider their physical characteristics and habitat. The characteristics used to identify the subspecies of wild turkey are usually body size, coloration of feathers and body proportions. There are overlapping characteristics between each of the subspecies, but a comparison of several different characteristics may help identify the subspecies. The following table is a guide to identifying a wild turkey to subspecies Keep in mind that wild turkeys, like all living things, exhibit much variation, which at times can make identification to subspecies difficult. Turkeys grow 17-25 pounds in the wild, and live for about five years.

CHARACTERISTIC	EASTERN TURKEY	MERRIAM'S TURKEY	GOULD"S TURKEY	FLORIDA OSCEOLA TURKEY	RIO GRANDE TURKEY
Body Appearance	Metallic bronze with gold	Purple/Bronze, very dark	Metallic blue green	Metallic bronze with iridescent red and green	Coppery to greenish gold
Tail Feather Tips	Cinnamon to dark chestnut	Buff to pinkish white	White	Cinnamon to dark chestnut	Cinnamon to buff
Rump Feathers (lower back)	Copper	Nearly white	Copper and greenish gold	Copper	Greenish gold to bluish Black
Upper tail Coverts	Chestnut brown to buff	Nearly white	Nearly white	Chestnut brown to buff	Cinnamon to buff

 

The turkey "beard" is not a reliable indicator of sex. The beard may be broken or obscured from view. Many males, including jakes (one-year-old males), have short beards which are difficult to see. Up to 10 percent of hens will have thin 6- to 8-inch beards! These hens represent a valuable segment of the turkey nesting population. Physical characteristics can be used to differentiate hens and gobblers. Gobblers have pronounced red, white and blue head coloration during the spring season. The white skull cap on the gobbler is distinct, as is the presence of leg spurs and prominent red wattles on the neck. The body coloration of a gobbler is distinctly dark, almost black. In contrast, hens have a smaller, bluish-gray head, lack spurs and prominent wattles, and are brownish in appearance. Finally, gobblers strut, fan their tails and gobble; hens do not. The sex of a turkey "in hand" is readily determined. Look at a small chest or breast feather. Gobbler feathers are black-tipped, while hen feathers are buff-tipped.

Beard Length Color of Beard Tip Approximate Age of Gobbler Under 4 1/2 " Amber 1 Year or Less 4 1/2" to 8 1/2" Amber 1 1/2 Years (fall) 8 1/2" to 10 1/2 " Amber 2 years (spring) Over 10 1/2" Black 3 Years or Older

 

Length (Inches) Curvature Sharpness Approximate Age of Gobbler Less than 1/2 None Rounded Less than 1 Year 1/2 to 7/8 Straight Blunt 1 1/2 years (fall) 2 years (spring) 1 to 1 1/2 Slightly Curved Pointed 2 to 3 Years Over 1 1/2 Curved Sharp Older than 4 Years

 

DIET

Seeds, leaves, fruits, buds, acorns, pine and other nuts, and insects make up a turkey diet. They scratch the ground, pluck, pick and strip seeds from low-lying plants, and will mooch about, searching for insects on the ground and in low lying plants.

They roost high in trees, at a spot with plenty of water nearby. Their nocturnal vision is poor, and birds forced to leave their roosts after dark have great difficulty. Turkeys usually begin roosting about sundown and leave their roost trees shortly before sunrise. In dark conditions -- overcast, rain, snow or fog -- birds often roost earlier and leave later. Turkeys drink water once or twice daily, and seldom roost more than two miles from a permanent water supply. Unlike their domestic cousins, wild turkeys can fly quite well, allowing them a reasonably wide travel range that permits them to wander long distances, quickly. Entire flocks travel widely within home ranges that extend to 6.5 miles, depending on habitat type and flock size, and individual hens can extend their territories to 300 acres.

REPRODUCTION

Turkey reproduction begins in the early spring when male birds begin to call and strut, and thereby gather a harem of five or more hens. Breeding takes place in late March and April, and can continue through June. Hens nest in a slight depression they scoop from the ground, concealed in thick, low vegetation. Egg-laying usually requires up to two weeks, and continuous incubation begins when the final egg is laid. Female turkeys lay 5-18 eggs, but usually 10-12, and will sit the clutch for 28 days. Incubating hens leave their nests for short periods, usually in midmorning or late afternoon. If a nest is abandoned or destroyed, renesting sometimes occurs. A study of Merriam’s turkeys reported a 27 percent renesting rate; other studies found lower renesting rates among juvenile hens. By the first week of their young lives, chicks can fly short distances into a roost tree, but the hen and her young often remain together until spring of the following year, occasionally mixing with other broods. Growing poults require large amounts of protein for rapid weight gain during summer. One researcher observed two- to three- week-old poults eating an average of 3,600 food items, mostly insects, every day. During this period, the poults gain as much as a pound every two weeks. Toms hang together in separate flocks.

Early in summer, broods begin to establish a social organization, or "pecking order,"based on dominance, often determined by fiercely contested fights. Combatants use threat displays and staccato trill or rattle calls before progressing to wing striking, kicking and pecking. As a fight continues, they sometimes wrap their necks together and push against each other until the dominant bird is determined. The pecking order changes as broods merge to form flocks, and by the time the flocks gather into winter concentrations, the complex social organization includes hierarchies and pecking orders for males and females and within and between flocks of the same sex. The merging of brood flocks offers increased security from predation.

DEFENSES AND ENEMIES

Turkeys detect predators and other threats with acute vision and hearing. Wild turkeys have a broader field of vision, about 270 degrees, and a keener ability to discern movement than humans do, but they do not have binocular vision. They compensate by making observations from several locations. Their hearing is thought to be as acute as that of humans, but they appear to have more sensitivity to high frequencies and to frequency variations more subtle than humans can detect. Turkeys can detect some color differences. Adult turkeys are strong, capable flyers for short distances, and flight speeds up to 55 miles per hour have been observed. Their running speed approaches 15 miles per hour for short distances. Alarmed turkeys in hilly terrain often glide to safety.

Turkey predators include bobcats, coyotes and golden eagles. Other predators of young turkeys or turkey eggs include great horned owls, opossums, raccoons, foxes, skunks, badgers, magpies, crows, snakes, rodents and feral and free-roaming dogs and cats.

DISEASES

Turkeys, especially in confinement, are susceptible to many diseases and parasites, including blackhead (histomoniasis), fowl cholera, fowl pox, fowl typhoid and coccidiosis. Blackhead is caused by a protozoan parasite that can attack a variety of galliform (chicken-like) birds, but it is especially deadly in wild or domestic turkeys. Parasites commonly found in turkeys include internal roundworms, tapeworms, flukes and external lice, fleas, flies, mites and ticks. Prevention and control of diseases in wild populations is difficult. Diseases are sometimes introduced by carriers such as pen-raised turkeys. Interbreeding with pen-raised birds can pollute native wild turkey gene pools. Turkeys are also threatened by feeding and over-protection by humans, activities that encourage artificially high concentrations of birds. Attracting wild turkeys where they can come in contact with domestic poultry increases the opportunities for diseases to be introduced into wild populations. Humans can best help turkey populations survive by establishing natural food areas near escape cover and by protecting existing habitat.

CURRENT DISTRIBUTION

By 1930, 30,000 North American wild turkeys were evident only in a few southern states, their numbers drastically reduced over the years by habitat destruction and market shooting, eliminating them in most locations. Through expeditious wildlife management conducted by state and federal wildlife agencies and by the National Wild Turkey Federation, populations were restored in 43 states, and quickly expanded to 2 million turkeys in the country by 1980. Today there are turkeys in 49 states, only Alaska does not have turkeys.