Wild Turkey
Scientific name
Meleagris gallopavo
about the species
Wild Turkeys can be identified by their long legs and necks, red wattles, and are famous for their gobbling call. You can distinguish a male from a female turkey by their coloring. Males have a red and blue head with a fanned tail while females have longer necks and legs and are dark brown in coloring overall with an even darker barring. Males are significantly larger than females and males appear even larger when performing strutting displays for females by puffing out their feathers and fanning out their tails. These birds typically live in open woodlands and roost at night in trees, commonly residing in large flocks. Wild Turkeys are omnivores and ground foragers, often scratching in the leaves beneath hedgerows and in forests. Common food sources include grass seeds, dogwood fruits, wild grapes, corn, oats, wheat, acorns, and insects. Threats to Wild Turkeys beyond human hunting activities include occasional rock salt poisoning and lead poisoning, habitat degradation through deforestation, and domestication. Turkeys are vital parts of our ecosystem through their predator-prey relationships. For example, other animals feed on their eggs and young, and adult turkeys can serve as prey for larger predators.
conservation status
Least concern
How we’re studying this species
Wild Turkeys are a commonly documented during our avian point count surveys in Forest Park. We are also collecting movement data on Wild Turkeys using GPS tags. We also collect Wild Turkey health data to understand the diseases and parasites these birds may be exposed to.
