Our Wild Turkey

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: November 2024

Male and Female Wild Turkeys by Ed Boos

At upwards of 25 pounds in heft and 48 inches in length, this native American is our largest perching bird. Wild Turkeys, large and ground-dwelling though they are, roost on a perch in trees at night. They most often walk or run to get around forests and fields. Their Latin name Meleagris gallopavo translates “I was galloping with turkeys.” They are also strong and able flyers capable of reaching speeds of 60 mph.

The turkey’s common name, say linguists, originated from early Europeans who encountered this bird in North America and thought it like Guinea Fowl native to Turkey, the nation. The white turkeys that grace our Thanksgiving tables are domesticated, barnyard versions of the Wild Turkey.

Ben Franklin was not the only great American who preferred the Wild Turkey to the Bald Eagle as our national symbol.

John James Audubon (1785-1851), the celebrated woodsman and wildlife artist, favored this bird. His gold signet ring and personal seal featured a carnelian with an engraved image of the turkey. In his The Birds of America, published serially between 1827 and 1838, Audubon gave this bird primacy of place as the first to appear among the 435 birds depicted, plate number 1. This image appears above.

Plate 1, Wild Turkey by J. J. Audubon

Seen in bright sunlight, turkeys sport stunning color as well as an interesting collection of beards, wattles, caruncles and snoods hanging over their beaks. The plumage flashes metalic copper and bronze, glittering green mixed with purple, and deep chestnut tips on tail feathers and coverts. The featherless head changes color ranging from aquamarine to outlandish blueish purple. The changeable neck is mostly red and white. Different colors express the bird’s differing moods.

The male courts the female, shown also above curtesy of Ed Boos, with a display worthy of a place in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. In the avian world, this exemplifies the male of the species elaborately courting the female. Better than cologne. In this photo the female is beside him signaling her receptivity.

In 1492, according to Lovett Williams, the population of turkeys in North America covered much of the eastern and southern land mass and numbered 40 million. By the 1930s, overhunting and habitat loss had reduced their presence to just 12 percent of their earlier range and their numbers to only 30,000. For over two decades since then, good conservation and transplant efforts have reinstated the Wild Turkey. It now appears in all 48 contiguous states and numbers around seven million.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society.

The Highlands Plateau Audubon Society, focused on enjoying and preserving birds and their habitats, is a Chapter of the National Audubon Society and a 501(c)(3) organization. For information on all our activities and membership, visit highlandsaudubonsociety.org.