Wild Turkeys
Wild turkeys are large, ground dwelling birds with powerful legs, fan shaped tails, and a red fleshy lobe called a “wattle,” that hangs from their chin. Male turkeys, also called “toms” or “gobblers,” sport a “beard” consisting of a tuft of black filamentous feathers protruding from their breast.
Are wild turkeys dangerous? Wild turkeys that adapt to urban or suburban communities, especially young and mature males during the breeding season, can become quite aggressive towards people. Rarely do they cause serious damage, although they often will chase and harass children.
Where do wild turkeys live? Wild turkeys typically forage on forest floors and trees in the Colorado mountains.
Top Turkey Facts!
TURKEY FACT #1: Enough with gobble, gobble. Turkeys also cluck and purr.
TURKEY FACT #2: Turkey droppings tell a bird’s sex and age. Male droppings are j-shaped; female droppings are spiral-shaped. The larger the diameter, the older the bird.
TURKEY FACT #3: Feathers galore: An adult turkey has 5,000 to 6,000 feathers — count them!
TURKEY FACT #4: Tom turkeys aren’t the only ones that swagger and fan their tail feathers to woo mates and ward off rivals. Some hens strut, too.
TURKEY FACT #5: Young turkeys — called poults — scarf down insects like candy. Poults develop more of a taste for plants after they’re four weeks old.
TURKEY FACT #6: They may look off-kilter — tilting their heads and staring at the sky — yet they’re fast. Turkeys can clock 18 miles per hour on foot and up to 50 miles per hour in flight.
TURKEY FACT #7: Move over, American bald eagle. Ben Franklin called the wild turkey a “bird of courage” and thought it would make a better national symbol.
TURKEY FACT #8: In the early 1900s, wild turkeys were on the brink of extinction, with only about 200,000 left. Through conservation efforts over the past century, with funds derived from the Pittman-Robertson Act, and thanks to sportsmen and women, there are approximately 6.5 million wild birds in the United States today, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.
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