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Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
45.0021, -93.1247
Field Notes
Description:
Adult male turkeys, called "gobblers," are very large birds often weighing over 25 lbs. in our area. The males have dark iridescent body feathers that may be russet, green, brown, and black depending upon the quality of the light; wings are lighter and striped. Males have bare skin on their heads that change color depending upon their state of mind. For instance, red when they are fully aroused and ready to fight to blue when they are being less aggressive. Males also have a beard of specialized bristly feathers that protrudes from their breast. Females are smaller, have darker, duller heads and bodies and typically no beard.
Habitat:
Turkeys range across the US and Mexico in habitat ranging from well-watered deciduous forest, to arid open parklands and wooded river bottoms.
Notes:
This bird, along with eight others, showed up in my backyard this morning. The gobblers are already strutting and trying to impress the hens and intimidate other gobblers.
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