Wild Turkeys - Pictures

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Wild Turkeys - Description

Wild Turkeys belong to the Phasainidae family, along with partridges, grouse and quail. The scientific name of the wild turkey is Meleagris gallopavo. From beak to tail tip, males measure about 45 inches; females measure 36 inches. Turkeys have red wattles on the neck and skinny snoods, flapping on both sides of the beak. Turkeys have no ears and the snoods are actually their hearing organs.

The breast features a dark pendant tuft and a colorful fan shaped tail. Feathering is dark and iridescent. Head is blue. Both head and neck are naked. When excited or angry, the wattles and the snoods turn bright red. Females have no wattles, and sometimes no breast tuft. Wild Turkey females' plumage is less colorful.

Wild Turkeys - Mating

The mating period begins in February and ends in April. Grand gait and vividly colored fan-like tail make the male turkey extremely attractive to females. A male flies onto a tree and starts gobbling. The wattles and the snood turn bright red. When he meets a female, they start twisting and posing in a ridiculous courtship ballet.

Wild Turkey clutches average 10-15 eggs; incubation period is 28 days. Only a half of the hatches survive to reach maturity. The hen builds the nest in depressions with dense grass coverage. Eggs are very rich in proteins, and therefore, they are a delicious meal for raccoons, skunks and opossums. Wild turkeys attain puberty after 1 year, although it may be not before they reach 2 to 3 years that they start mating. Wild Turkeys live some 11 years.

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