American Wild Turkey - Turkey Hunting - Upland Hunting
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Description
There are only two species of Wild turkeys i.e. the North American Wild turkey and the ocellated turkey of Central America. These game birds can get around by walking, running or flying. The males are large with spherical bodies, a naked (unfeathered) head that's has red and blue wattles and a fanned tail. Females, on the other hand, have long necks and legs with a dark brown body and a darker barring. Both sexes have dark wings that are barred boldly with white. The rump & tail feathers are tipped broadly with white or rusty colors. Their head's bare skin can vary from red to blue and gray. With a length of 110 – 115cm and a weight of 2,500 to 10,800g, the American Wild turkey has a wingspan of 125 to 144 cm.
Habitat
Although their habitat varies, mountain forests, woods, and wooded swamps are the main habitats. Since acorns are wild turkey's favorite food, you will find these game birds occupying cypress swamps, pike oak forests, chaparral, oak-hickory forests, and arid mesquite grasslands. Ideal habitats for these birds include a mixture of open clearings and woodland.
Diet
The American Wild turkeys are mainly omnivorous although their diet varies from one season to another. These birds feed on plant materials like seeds, grains, acorns, buds, leaves, grass blades, berries, bulbs, and roots. They also feed on snails, spiders, insects and sometimes frogs, snakes, salamanders, lizards, and frogs. The American Wild turkeys use their strong feet to scratch litter while looking for food. These birds can climb on trees and shrubs looking for berries, leaves and other plant materials or insects.
Nesting
In early spring, the male turkeys gather in a clear area for courtship displays. Some of the displays entail puffing up the body feathers, raising and spreading their tails into a vertical fan, drooping the wings while producing a characteristic gobbling call to attract females. The males also make humming sounds while strutting away in an exaggerated posture.
The nest is built on the ground mostly at the base of a tree, in tall grasses or under a shrub. The females dig a shallow depression and line it with leaves, grass, and twigs to provide warmth.
Eggs
The average number of eggs is between 10 and 15 although some female American Wild turkeys lay 4 – 18 eggs. It is very rare for the females to lay more than 18 eggs. The eggs color ranges from white to pale buff with characteristic reddish-brown dots.
Incubation is done by the female turkey only for 25 to 31 days. Upon hatching, the young ones leave the nest to look for food. It is common for the females to tend and brood the young a night for about three weeks. The young turkeys can start making short flights after 1 to 2 weeks although they mature after a few months.
