Error message
Unable to fetch location details at this time.
Wild turkey
Meleagris gallopavo silvestris
44.8504, -68.8619
Field Notes
Description:
The eastern subspecies of the wild turkey; males up to 30 pounds, and traveling in flocks of dozens -- nearly 40 in this group, which regularly forages under our bird feeders and surrounding forest. Vocalizations are constant and complex -- and sound incongruously gentle, sometimes like the coos of doves -- and their social coordination is impressive.
The turkey in the tree, and then flying down, was a sentry. He arrived a few minutes before the others, scouted the area, then called for the rest, who arrived in single-file.
Habitat:
In this case, second-generation forest with adjoining fields.
Notes:
The tendency to turn domesticated animals into terms of ridicule -- a coward is a chicken, a slob is a pig, an ungainly screw-up is a turkey -- obscures the majesty of this creature.
Comments (3)