 Introduction
To Wild Turkeys
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Meleagris
Species: gallopavo
There were originally six subspecies of the
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in North America and one related species,
the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) in Central America. The originally
discovered subspecies (M. gallopavo gallopavo) is now extinct due to hunting.
Of the other five subspecies only the Gould's Turkey is in danger. It occurs
in extreme southwest New Mexico, southeast Arizona and adjacent regions
of Mexico. The Gould subspecies is listed on the endangered species list
and hunting is limite/prohibited in the United States.
Subspecies Distribution
-
The Eastern Turkey (M. g. silvestris) is the most widely distributed
subspecies and occurs east of the Missouri river to the eastern shore of
the United states, in parts of Minnesota, the eastern third of Kansas and
Oklahoma, eastern Texas and northern Florida.
-
The Florida subspecies (M. g. osceola) occurs in the southern portion
of Florida.
-
The Rio Grande (M. g. intermedia) occurs mainly in the western portions
of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, with transplants in small portions of Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, Utah and South Dakota.
-
The Merriam's (M. g. merriami) occurs in South Dakota, and portions
of most of the mountain states from Canada to Mexico.
Hybrid or intergrade turkeys are found in areas where two or more subspecies
occur; these birds may exhibit characteristics of one or the other subspecies,
both subspecies or in between.
Habitat
Generally speaking, the Eastern turkey is
found in open, mixed hardwood and pine forests, the Osceola is found in
the subtropical regions of Florida, the Rio Grande in scattered brush land
of the southwest, and the Merriam's and Gould's in pine forests of the
southwest. Turkeys prefer to roost in trees larger than the surrounding
vegetation and will often choose roost sites on east facing slopes out
of the prevailing winds. Because sight is a main means of defense against
predators for turkeys, they use open fields and meadows as feeding and
strutting sites, and wooded areas as roosting sites. Strutting sites are
often traditional, used year after year by successive birds.
Forage
Turkeys eat a wide range of foods including
succulent grasses and forbes, insects, leftover grains, fruits of the grape,
cherry and black gum, seeds including mast crops of acorns, pine nuts and
juniper (cedar) berries, and new growth agricultural crops. In the winter
turkeys rely heavily on acorns and seeds; branch tips of brush and trees;
leftover grain crops; and will feed heavily in fields where manure has
been spread; at corn cribs and feedlots; and at silage piles. In
the early spring turkeys often rely on leftover grain in agricultural fields.
Once the weather warms and new green growth appears they will begin feeding
in pastures, river and creek bottoms, and hayfields, where they eat green
forage and search for insects. Hens often seek out sources of calcium (such
as land snails) for egg production in the spring.
Roosts
The availability and location of roosting
sites is a determining factor in turkey use of the habitat. If few or no
roosting sites are available turkeys may leave the area or not use it.
They prefer to roost in heavy timber in ravines if possible; where they
can be out of strong prevailing winds in winter, but they will roost in
trees open to the wind. Roost sites are often located over or near water
in the south.
Scientific studies have shown that turkeys
often roost on an east or south facing slope, about a third of the way
down the slope where the winds are calm. East and south facing slopes also
receive the earliest sunlight, allowing the birds to warm-up and be able
to see early in the morning. In one study roost sites were often within
one half mile of water, and five hundred yards of a meadow. This could
be attributed to the fact that turkeys often feed before going to roost
in the evening, and they don't travel far at dusk. The preferred roosts
in the study were mature trees with open crowns giving the turkeys room
to fly into the trees and move around. They also preferred trees with large
horizontal limbs to roost on.
In western areas turkeys use fir, pine, spruce,
cottonwood and large aspen trees as roosts. Eastern birds often choose
pines, elm, maple, box elder, large oak, and cottonwood. Mature toms often
choose pines because the pines can reduce wind speeds by 50-70 percent.
Eastern turkeys generally have several roost sites in their home range,
and they may use different sites on successive nights. In limited and poor
habitat, Merriam's turkeys often roost in the same trees on a regular basis.
Vision
Vision scientist, Dr. Jay Neitz believes that
birds see in trichromatic color like humans, and that many birds actually
see four colors. He also believes that some birds see ultraviolet light
as a different color than any of the three primary colors of red, yellow
and blue seen by humans. Birds detect ultraviolet light in low light conditions
that humans can't, especially birds that are night predators.
Because turkeys are a prey species their eyes
are located on the sides of their heads, giving them a wide field of vision.
But, because of their wide spaced eyes, turkeys sacrifice depth perception;
they see very little in front of them with both eyes at the same time.
As turkeys walk, their heads move back and forth, giving them two different
angles of an object, which helps them determine the distance of the object.
Because of their poor depth perception, turkeys have difficulty determining
the relative size of objects.
Hearing
Birds ears are also located on the sides of
their heads, and because they have no outer ear with a cup to enhance the
sound in one direction, they hear sounds all the way around them. Sound
received by one ear but not by the other ear helps the birds determine
which direction the sounds come from, but not the distance of the sound.
Loud sounds generally come from closer range than quieter sounds, and cause
turkeys to become alert.
This makes it clear why prey species with
widely spaced eyes and ears give an alarm signal first, often try to verify
the danger with both their eyes and ears, and then flee. If they don't
know which direction the danger came from they need to verify the danger,
and direction, before fleeing; or they may actually flee into, rather than
away from danger.
Smell
Mammalian prey species (deer, elk, sheep,
etc.) that have a highly developed sense of smell can determine the direction
of danger by scent and wind direction. They generally flee down or crosswind,
knowing they are fleeing away from danger, not toward it. Because birds
have a poor sense of smell they need to rely heavily on both their eyes
and ears to determine the direction of danger before they flee from it.
Turkey Sign
Turkeys leave a variety of signs as indication
of their presence, and their tracks are usually the most evident sign.
Adult turkey tracks range from 2-3 inches in length, hens up to 2 1/8 inches
and toms 2 1/4 inches and longer. Mature toms leave a wider and deeper
middle toe imprint, often with the scales of the toes showing. Turkey droppings
can be found under roosts, in feeding areas and along travel routes. Hen
droppings are pencil size or larger, and bulbous or spiral in shape; tom
droppings are straight or "J" shaped. Piles of droppings under large trees
indicate roost sites. Dropped feathers, wing scrapes in strutting areas
and the shallow depressions of dusting bowls are all evidence of turkeys
use. V shaped scratches in dirt or leaf-litter is evidence of feeding turkeys.
If you are interested in more turkey hunting tips, or more turkey
biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s
Hunting Tips at TRMichels.com.
If you have questions about turkey log on to the T.R.'s Tips message
board.
This article is an excerpt from the Turkey Addict's Manual ($14.95 +
$5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels. For a copy Phone 507-824-3296, or Email:
trmichels@yahoo.com
for Information.
| To
List Of T.R. Michels Articles:
T.R. Michels
T.R. Michels is a nationally
recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker.
He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's
Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail
Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and
the 2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a
catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity
Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296,
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com, Website:
www.TRMichels.com
For a catalog of books
and other hunting aids contact:
T.R. Michels
Trinity Mountain Outdoors
PO Box 284
Wanamingo, MN 55983
507-824-3296
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com
Web: www.TRMichels.com |
|
| To
List Of T.R. Michels Articles:
T.R. Michels
T.R. Michels is a nationally
recognized big game researcher, speaker and writer. He is the author of
the series Whitetail, Elk, Turkey and Goose & Deer Addict's Manuals
and the innovator of the Moon Indicator.
T.R.'s latest books, available
for 2001, are the Deer Addict's Manual, Volume 7: Hunting Tactic; the Scrape
Addicts Manual; and the Outdoorsman's Cookbook, Volume 1 and 2.
Contact:
T.R. Michels
Trinity Mountain Outdoors
PO Box 284
Wanamingo, MN 55983
507-824-3296
Web: www.TRMichels.com
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com |
The Bowhunting Netcenter
We invite you to visit some
of the other Bowhunting.net Netcenter web sites:
|
