COVER STORY: North American Wild Turkeys

Turkeys don't always gobble in December but the sound coming from over the ridge was unmistakable. I was in Southwestern New Mexico partici- pating in a survey for Gould's turkeys and there was no doubt I would see turkeys as soon as I topped over the ridge and had a view into the valley below. And there they were: a dozen Gould's turkeys preparing to go to roost for the night. Only the jakes were gobbling while the mature gobblers were feeding and paying no attention to the youngsters. The sight of 12 Gould's wild turkeys was great, but even better was when the sun appeared just before it dipped below the horizon and lit up the colorful plumage of the birds. Their broad white tail bands were particularly highlighted, looking nearly like strobe lights. It's a sight I'll never forget. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is found only in North America from central Mexico to southern Canada, and from the East Coast of the US to west of the Rocky Mountains. There is a second species of wild turkey found in the Yucatan Peninsula region, known as the Occelated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) it differs from the North American species morphologically and behaviorally. Today we will be discussing the North American species and its six subspecies, five of which are still surviving. I do not think Ben Franklin ever formally recommended the wild turkey as our nation's symbol but it would have been a suitable choice if the Bald Eagle had not been chosen. The wild turkey is a regal game bird, long utilized by Native Americans for food and ceremonial purposes. We all know the story of the Pilgrims, Thanksgiving, and the focus on turkeys for that fine American meal every November, but there is much more to the wild turkey than that particular limited historical perspective. It is likely the Pilgrims knew about turkeys before they made their fateful journey nearly 400 years ago as the Spanish had brought wild turkeys to Europe from what is now Mexico by 1520. The bird brought to Europe by the Spanish, from southern Mexico was the Mexican turkey (M. g. gallopavo ), described by Linneaus in 1758, and now thought to be an extinct subspecies. Thanks in part to the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving however, the best known turkey to most Americans (whether they know it or not) is the Eastern Wild Turkey (M. g. silvestris). The other subspecies are the Florida (or Osceola) Turkey (M. g. osceola), the Rio Grande Turkey (M. g. intermedia), the Merriam's Turkey (M. g. merriami), and the Gould's Turkey (M.g. mexicana). The Eastern Wild Turkey is the most common and wide spread of all turkey subspecies and is found from the East Coast to the Great Plains of North America, nearly completely within the U.S., but also along the southern edge of Canada. The Florida Turkey is a smaller representative of the Eastern Turkey, with slight differences in markings of its feathers, and is found only in Florida, below a line running southeast from Jacksonville. The Rio Grande Turkey is an intermediate form and its population is centered from Northern Mexico, through Texas to Kansas. The southern Rocky Mountain region, mostly Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Colorado is home to the Merriam's Turkey, while the Gould's Turkey is primarily a Mexican subspecies entering the US only in extreme southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. Male turkeys are known as gobblers, and females are called hens, with young birds (less than a year) are known as jakes (males) and jennys (females). Birds mature at around I year of age and are capable of breeding at this time. Elaborate courtship displays are conducted by gobblers, with hens either being very interested or caring not at all depending upon their attitude that day. Gobblers earned their name based upon their loud, booming call, which is most often heard during the spring breeding season, but which may be heard at anytime of the year as well as anytime of the day. But the gobble is not the only sound turkeys make as there are at least 28 distinct calls reported. Somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers are found on the wild turkey, which undergo four distinct molts from natal to adult. Unlike most, but not all, birds, turkey feathers exhibit iridescence with copper, bronze, gold, green, and red colors found, especially on gobblers. Turkey tails usually have 18 large feathers.

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