Wild turkeys

by Jeff Swan

Title

Wild turkeys

Artist

Jeff Swan

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Wild turkeys in the underbrush near Balfor State Park

KEVIN COYLE | NOVEMBER 20, 2011

Fish and Wildlife Service
This Thanksgiving holiday many of us will join with family and friends for a big meal and, for 50 million households, that will also mean having some roasted turkey. Most folks know that the turkeys we eat are a domesticated version of the wild birds we sometimes see or hear in the wild so this got me wondering about wild turkeys. I found a number of interesting things about wild turkeys I didn’t actually know.
1. ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The bird really is named after the nation of Turkey. Early European visitors to the Americas saw the creature and it reminded them of a bird familiar to them back home known as a “Turkey bird.” It seems that the African guinea fowl made it to Europe in the Middle Ages via Turkey and the similarity to the American bird gave rise to the same name being applied.

2. OTHER TURKEY TAGS
Adult male turkeys are called toms and females are called hens. Very young birds are poults and adolescents are called jakes.

3. PATRIOTIC HEADS
The wild turkey’s bald head can change color in seconds with excitement or emotion. The birds’ heads can be red, (pink) white or blue.

4. LOUD AND FAST
Turkeys’ gobbles can be heard a mile or more away and they are fast on their feet with a top running speed of about 25 miles per hour or about the same as a human track star.

5. QUICK FROM THE NEST
A young poult is up, out of the nest and walking around searching for food within an incredibly rapid 24 hours. Turkeys have been known to lay as many as 18 eggs in a clutch so maybe a fast exit is simply to beat the crowd.

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January 9th, 2017

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