Lynda Hester D’Orio
November 10, 1998

Turkeys have been on this planet in one form or another for 10 million years and have become one of the most popular, well known wild birds.

They did hit a patch of  serious trouble in the beginning of the 20th century, though.  In the United States around the 1930’s, it is reported that their numbers were dwindling due to overhunting, disease and forest clearing.

Thanks to preservation efforts involving a new form of herd trapping and transplanting the birds to more tranquil habitats, the Wild Turkey is now plentiful, residing in all lower 48 states and Hawaii.  New Jersey is home to thousands of wild turkeys, flourishing in woodsy areas where they can feed on  grains, berries, beechnut, acorns, oats, grasses, ferns and insects. When winter is tough, they can last as long as two weeks without eating.

We know turkeys evolved on the North and South American Continents exclusively and became a great game bird for Indians and settlers. Indians of the American Southwest, Mexico and Central America first hunted the wild turkey and also domesticated them.  Spanish Explorers enjoyed them so much they took Mexican Turkeys back to Europe in the 1500’s.

Male turkeys, referred to as Toms and Gobblers, are much larger than the female hens, have more colorful plumage and have different calls.  The average wild turkey weighs in at 20 lbs compared to the domestic variety which can be as large as 15-30 lbs.  Unlike the myth we’ve all heard, wild turkeys can be elusive and clever in evading hunters.   The wild turkey can see five times better than a person and hear up to eight times more accurately than we can.

There are many sounds and calls of the turkey, as many as 50 including the more popular “gobble, gobble” call of the male turkey, which can be heard from a mile away. There are six species of wild turkeys: the Eastern , Merriam’s, Rio Grande, Florida, Mexican and an offshoot species from the Yucatan.

A turkey has a snood but no ears.  The snood is the fleshy thing that hangs off the turkey’s chin, sometimes referred to as a beard.  Even though the wild turkey has no ears to speak of, they have excellent hearing.

The Wild Turkey not only differs in size, it also differs in personality from the domestic turkey.  Wild turkeys avoid humans,  they can and will take flight to avoid them, while domestic varieties tolerate humans as their caretakers. Wild Turkeys can fly at speeds up to 55 miles an hour, they are good at running too, they can  reach speeds of  25 miles an hour.

Only 50% of  turkey eggs hatch and mature into adults.  Many don’t survive for various reasons, including becoming part of the next level of the food chain when they are still eggs or baby hatchlings.  Typically, a hen  produces a clutch of   9-18 eggs.  These eggs are very tasty and a great source of protein in the diet of animals like the raccoon, skunk and opossum.

As with many conservation efforts of wild animals, there is usually a ground swell of support from hunters wanting to be able to hunt these game birds and manage their numbers for the future.  Hunting wild turkeys is now an industry. Ranges have been established in many states complete with guides, hunting vacations and seminars on hunting them and using specialized bird calls to lure them.

One of the largest organizations in the world dedicated to the wild turkey is the National Wild Turkey Foundation www.hooks.com/nwf  They lead the way in teaching safer hunting and well planned preservation of the turkey and it’s habitat. For the purpose of viewing them in the wild (not for hunting)  you can find Wild Turkeys in New Jersey.  The New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide by Laurie Pettigrew, spells out where there are many reserves and parks to spot turkeys in the Garden State.

Take the Wild Turkey Trivia Test
True or False

1. Wild turkeys have been clocked flying 55 MPH.

2. In the 1950’s, there were only 100,000 turkeys in the wild, today there are an estimated  3 million of them in the wild.

3. There are 10 sounds a turkey can make.

4. Hunting wild turkeys in New Jersey is illegal.

5. There are six varieties of wild turkey.

6. Domestic turkeys have black legs and wild turkeys have pink legs.

7. Turkey gobble calls can be heard from 300 feet away.

8. Wild turkeys mate for life, like swans.

9. Male turkeys take turns with their mates in nesting and raising their young.

10. Wild turkeys are found in every state of the United States including Hawaii.

11. The way to tell a male turkey is by his snood. 

Click for Answers to the Trivia Test

Want more information on Wild turkeys? Try these sites

http://www.woodbridgechips.com/turkeytrivia.html Turkey Trivia for Baby
Boomers

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/outgoblr.htm The New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife-site includes hunting regulations in our state and conservation approach to wildlife management. Also, this site posts a Turkey shoot contest for New Jersey Hunters.

http://www.hooks.com/nwf The National Wild Turkey Federation for conservation of American Wild Turkeys and to preserve the Turkey Hunting Tradition

http://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/turkey/turkey.htm Report by two Faculty members of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1993

http://library.advanced.org/11922/birds/turkey.htm The Virtual Zoo: Turkey

http://alloutdoors.com/Alloutdoors/Library/Hunting/Wing/TURKING.HTML (Library)

http://www.honeysucklewhite.com/html/faq.html Frequently Asked Questions about Turkeys, including cooking them!