Stats

Lifespan: 3-5 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

The Wild Turkey is North America's heaviest native land bird, with males sporting iridescent bronze plumage that shimmers green, copper, and gold in sunlight. Toms fan their tail into a dramatic wide arc and flush their bare head skin from blue-grey to vivid red during courtship displays.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A large clutch of eggs sits in a shallow ground scrape, incubated by the hen until the brood hatches together.
2.
hatchling chick
A downy chick leaves the nest within hours of hatching and pecks for food alongside the hen.
3.
juvenile
A juvenile grows its first body feathers, learns to fly short bursts, and stays in the brood until fledged.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Meleagris
Species: Meleagris gallopavo