The wild turkey is a large, ground-dwelling bird native to forests and woodland edges across much of North America, the ancestor of the domesticated turkey raised for food worldwide. Males are considerably larger than females and display iridescent bronze-green plumage along with a bare, colorful head and a fan of long tail feathers used in elaborate courtship displays accompanied by the familiar gobbling call. Wild turkeys are strong runners and capable short-distance fliers, roosting in trees overnight for safety from ground predators and feeding by day on acorns, seeds, fruit and insects. Once eliminated from large parts of its historic range by overhunting and habitat loss, the wild turkey has rebounded strongly across North America through reintroduction programs and is now common in many areas.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or ExtinctDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status. Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceThe body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes gray-brown, overall, with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in older males. Mature males have a large, featherless, reddish head and red throat. 1 Comparison
NatureServe Rank CITES Appendix Scientific Name Conservation Status Population Estimate Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Wild Turkey (Wikipedia)
Source Wild Turkey (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Wild Turkey (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia article, opening sentence
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes
Infobox: status
LC
Wikipedia article, Population and range section, current estimate sentence
current estimates place the entire wild turkey population at 7 million individuals
Wikipedia article, Description section, plumage and head sentence
The body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes gray-brown, overall, with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in older males. Mature males have a large, featherless, reddish head and red throat
In Biome: River, Habitat
Best ranges for turkeys in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont sections have an interspersion of clearings, farms, and plantations with preferred habitat along principal rivers and in cypress (Taxodium distichum) and tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) swamps.
In Biome: Chaparral, Habitat
Turkeys in these areas can be found in dense thickets of manzanita (Arctostaphylos), often growing on arid hillsides, for shelter and nesting sites, as well as rocky and boulder-strewn chaparral foothills.
In Biome: Grassland, Flight
In ideal habitat of open woodland or wooded grasslands, they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches.
In Biome: River, Rio Grande wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia)
Its habitats are brush areas next to streams, rivers or mesquite, pine and scrub oak forests.
View the Source 2. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
3. GBIF Species API
4. NatureServe Explorer: Meleagris gallopavo
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
5. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Meleagris gallopavo (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITESQuote, Conservation Status: CITES
CITES No special status
Wikidata: Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey (Wikidata)
WikidataWikidata Q26844 (P1034 main food source): nut
Main food source (Wikidata property P1034): nut.
Wikidata Q26844 (P1034 main food source): insect
Main food source (Wikidata property P1034): insect.
View the Source Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: GalliformesView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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