Coming within one congressional vote of being our national bird, the Wild Turkey instead became our Thanksgiving meal, and the population was widely exterminated throughout North America. Recent reintroductions have restored it, however, to much of its former range, and now it is hunted as a sport animal in many parts of the United States. Usually seen in small family groups as they noisily scratch in the leaf litter for seeds, acorns, fruits and insects, at night they roost together in mid levels of trees. The nest is a shallow depression hidden on the ground among grasses and low shrubs.
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Upland Ground
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Length: 46 in. (117 cm )
Male | Oliver Niehuis
Male | Oliver Niehuis
Fir forest
Oak-pine woodland
Riparian / River forest
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Bibliographic details:
- Article: Wild Turkey
- Author(s): Dr. Biology
- Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
- Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
- Date published: July 13, 2017
- Date accessed: April 7, 2020
- Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/wild-turkey
APA Style
Dr. Biology. (2017, July 13). Wild Turkey. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved April 7, 2020 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/wild-turkey
American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
Chicago Manual of Style
Dr. Biology. "Wild Turkey". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 July, 2017. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/wild-turkey
Dr. Biology. "Wild Turkey". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 Jul 2017. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 7 Apr 2020. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/wild-turkey
For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/04/
MLA 2017 Style
Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
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