Woodpile Sketches - Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Once rare in suburban areas of Minnesota, the wild turkey is now quite a common site. They are, however, more often heard than seen. Turkeys have a large variety of "gobbles," "clucks," "putts," "purrs," and "yelps"that they use to declare territory, state dominance, find mates, etc. Especially in summer and fall, you can stand at the edge of the woodpile and hear turkeys calling to each other.

Male turkeys grow to be about twice the size of females. It is common for a male turkey to be around 20 or 30 lbs. The male turkey can be over three feet tall. This makes it the largest game bird in the United States.

Male turkeys have a red throat and modified "beard"of feathers that come from their chest. Both male and female have long reddish-orange to grayish-blue legs, a bluish neck and head and a dark-brown body with 5000-6000 feathers. The turkey is a surprisingly colorful bird, but most people think it is very unattractive.

Males form territories that will contain about 5 or 6 hens within them. Male turkeys display to win mates by puffing out their feathers, spreading their tail feathers and dragging their wings. This is called "strutting." When strutting, a male turkey will scratch and drum on the ground with his feet.

Some people think that the wild turkey is a ground-bound bird, but in fact, it is a very good flier. They can fly up to 50 miles per hour but usually choose to fly close to the ground for no more than about 1000 feet at a time.

Turkeys are omnivorous, and enjoy nuts, seeds, insects, worms, and grubs. They enjoy coming into suburban back yards to get birdseed that has fallen around bird feeders. However about 80% of the turkey's diet is made up of a variety of grasses.

A story commonly told about the U.S. founding fathers states that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national symbol instead of the bald eagle. That doesn't appear to be entirely accurate. Franklin, a bit of a prankster, was genuinely upset about the choice of the bald eagle for our national bird, and did mention that the turkey would be a better choice. But that appears to have only been meant as a joke, and not a serious proposal.