I really like Wild Turkeys. They can be entertaining, especially during breeding season. They have also learned to survive in a variety of habitats - eat all kinds of food, know how to evade hunters, have keen hearing and eyesight, and teach their young how to find food and water in suburban neighborhoods and on golf courses.
Tom Wild Turkey in full strut mode, ready to impress the females (Hens).
Identifying males, aka Toms or Gobblers (adult Toms) - 1. Caruncles. 2. Snood. 3. Wattle. 4. Major Caruncle. 5. Beard (brush like feathers - can grow up to 12 inches).
Dressed to Impress - Gobblers strut slowly, painfully slow if you are in a car waiting for them to cross the road. About half way the Tom in charge will change his mind and the "raffle"** will slowly begin their strut back to the original point of entry. Meanwhile the hens, who the Toms are trying to impress, are nearly out of sight. Hint to birders - Binoculars are not needed to observe Toms in Breeding Plumage.
Hens, much like human females, are in charge of hatching and raising the young. Unfortunately, Hens must abandon the nest to search for food, leaving the eggs vulnerable to predators. The few survivors of the nesting process, mature quickly. At five to six weeks they begin roosting in trees, thus reducing their vulnerability to predators.
The Wild Turkey is not indigenous to California. Developing a wild turkey population was unsuccessful in California until the 1950s when California Fish and Game imported the Rio Grande Wild Turkey from Texas. Wild Turkeys are now abundant throughout the state.
Neighborhood Menace? These innocuous appearing birds can quickly become pests.
