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{{Short description|Species of turkey native to North America}}
{{Other uses|Wild Turkey (disambiguation)}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Gall-dindi.jpg
| image_caption = Male (tom/gobbler) eastern wild turkey strutting
| image2 = Wild Turkey (female) - Meleagris gallopavo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge, Virginia.jpg
| image2_caption = Female (hen)
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Meleagris gallopavo'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22679525A132051953 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22679525A132051953.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Meleagris
| species = gallopavo
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = 6, see [[#Subspecies|text]]
| range_map =
| range_map_caption = 
}}

The '''wild turkey''' ('''''Meleagris gallopavo''''') is an [[upland game bird]] native to [[North America]], one of two extant species of [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]] and the heaviest member of the order [[Galliformes]]. It is the ancestor to the [[domestic turkey]] (''M. g. domesticus''), which was originally derived from a southern Mexican [[subspecies]] of wild turkey (not the related [[ocellated turkey]]).

==Taxonomy==
The wild turkey was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under its current [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Meleagris gallopavo''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=156 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727063 }}</ref> The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] is Mexico.<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1934 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=2 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=140 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482953 }}</ref> The genus name ''Meleagris'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] μελεαγρις/''meleagris'' meaning "guineafowl".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=Meleagris | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Meleagris | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref> The specific epithet ''gallopavo'' is a late [[Medieval Latin]] word for a wild turkey: it combines Latin ''gallus'' meaning "fowl" and ''pavo'' meaning "peacock".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=gallopavo | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=gallopavo | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref> The word was used in 1555 by the Swiss naturalist [[Conrad Gessner]] in his ''[[Historia animalium (Gessner book)|Historiae animalium]]''.<ref>{{cite book| last=Gesner | first=Conrad | author-link=Conrad Gessner | title=Historiae animalium liber III qui est de auium natura. Adiecti sunt ab initio indices alphabetici decem super nominibus auium in totidem linguis diuersis: & ante illos enumeratio auium eo ordiné quo in hoc volumine continentur | year=1555 | publisher= Froschauer | location=Zurich | language=Latin | pages=464-465 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52661346 }}<!--Linnaeus cites a different edition.--></ref>

Six [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Pheasants, partridges, francolins | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/pheasants/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=15 February 2025}}</ref>
* ''Meleagris gallopavo silvestris'' [[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1817 – south Canada and central, east USA
* ''Meleagris gallopavo osceola'' [[William Earl Dodge Scott|Scott]], 1890 – Florida (USA)
* ''Meleagris gallopavo intermedia'' [[George B. Sennett|Sennett]], 1879 – north Texas to central east Mexico
* ''Meleagris gallopavo mexicana'' [[John Gould|Gould]], 1856 – northwest, central north Mexico (includes ''onusta'')
* ''Meleagris gallopavo merriami'' [[Edward William Nelson|Nelson]], 1900 – west USA
* ''Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo'' [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758 – south Mexico

==Description==
[[File:Turkey-Head-Anatomy.jpg|thumb|Close-up of head features]]

An adult male (tom or gobbler) normally weighs from {{convert|5|to|11|kg|abbr=on}} and measures {{convert|100|-|125|cm|abbr=on}} in length. The adult female (hen) is typically much smaller at {{convert|2.5|-|5.4|kg|abbr=on}} and is {{convert|76|to|95|cm|abbr=on}} long.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wild Turkey |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/wild-turkey |website=National Geographic |date=11 November 2010 |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124015819/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/wild-turkey |archive-date=2011-11-24}}</ref><ref name="animaldiversity.org"/> Per two large studies, the average weight of adult males is {{convert|7.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the average weight of adult females is {{convert|4.26|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="CRC 1993">{{cite book |editor1-last=Dunning |editor1-first=J.B. |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |date=1993 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida |isbn=0-8493-4258-9}}</ref><ref name="CRC 2008">{{cite book |editor1-last=Dunning |editor1-first=J.B. |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |date=2008 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida |isbn=978-1-4200-6444-5 |edition=2nd}}</ref> The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the [[National Wild Turkey Federation]], weighed {{convert|16.85|kg|abbr=on}}, with records of tom turkeys weighing over {{convert|13.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}} uncommon but not rare. Considering its maximum and average weight, it is among the heaviest flying birds in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=NWTF Wild Turkey Records |url=http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_records.php |website=nwtf.org |publisher=National Wild Turkey Federation |access-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831162239/http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_records.php |archive-date=2012-08-31}}</ref>

The wings are relatively small, as is typical of the galliform order, and the wingspan ranges from {{convert|1.25|to|1.44|m|abbr=on}}. The [[wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is only {{convert|20|to|21.4|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The [[Beak|bill]] is also relatively small, as adults measure {{convert|2|to|3.2|cm|in|abbr=on}} in [[Culmen (bird)|culmen]] length.<ref>{{cite web |title=Birds Master Database Search |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/scripts/DBs/birds_pub_proc.asp?page_no=1&MaxRecords=25&record_count=163&total_recs=163&output_style=table_type&family=&genus=&species=&subspecies=&region=&country=&state=&county=&common_name=Turkey&where_stg=((Genus+=+%27Cathartes%27+And+Species+=+%27aura%27)+Or+(Genus+=+%27Meleagris%27+And+Species+=+%27gallopavo%27))&search_type=&trys=2 |website=flmnh.ufl.edu |publisher=[[Florida Museum of Natural History]] |access-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925194114/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/scripts/DBs/birds_pub_proc.asp?page_no=1&MaxRecords=25&record_count=163&total_recs=163&output_style=table_type&family=&genus=&species=&subspecies=&region=&country=&state=&county=&common_name=Turkey&where_stg=((Genus+=+%27Cathartes%27+And+Species+=+%27aura%27)+Or+(Genus+=+%27Meleagris%27+And+Species+=+%27gallopavo%27))&search_type=&trys=2 |archive-date=2016-09-25}}</ref> The [[Tarsometatarsus|tarsus]] of the wild turkey is quite long and sturdy, measuring from {{convert|9.7|to|19.1|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The tail is also relatively long, ranging from {{convert|24.5|to|50.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Madge |first1=S. |last2=McGowan |first2=P. |title=Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse: A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails, and Sandgrouse of the World |date=2002 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-08908-9}}</ref>

Fully-grown wild turkeys have long, reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. Each foot has three front toes, with a shorter, rear-facing toe; males have a spur behind each of their lower legs, used to spar with other males.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tracker.cci.fsu.edu/turkey/files/2012/08/Turkey-Printable.pdf|title=Welcome to the Turkey Habitat|website=Habitat Tracker |publisher=[[Florida State University]]|access-date=2013-03-12|archive-date=2014-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202103028/http://tracker.cci.fsu.edu/turkey/files/2012/08/Turkey-Printable.pdf}}</ref>

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, with red [[Wattle (anatomy)|wattles]] on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy, unique growths called [[Caruncle (bird anatomy)|caruncles]], which may be used to identify certain birds from one another. When toms are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill (called a [[Snood (anatomy)|snood]]) expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become red with enhanced flow of blood to the head. Tail feathers are of the same length in adults but of different lengths in juveniles.

Males have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy, bronze wings. As with many other species of [[Galliformes]], turkeys exhibit strong [[sexual dimorphism]]. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold [[Iridescent|iridescence]]. The preen gland ([[uropygial gland]]) is also larger in males compared to females. In contrast to the majority of other birds, they are colonized by bacteria of unknown function (''[[Corynebacterium uropygiale]]'').<ref name="Braun">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.syapm.2015.12.001 |pmid=26776107 |title=''Corynebacterium uropygiale'' sp. nov., isolated from the preen gland of Turkeys (''Meleagris gallopavo'') |journal=Systematic and Applied Microbiology |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=88–92 |year=2016 |last1=Braun |first1=M.S.|last2=Zimmermann |first2=S. |last3=Danner |first3=M. |last4=Rashid |first4=H. |last5=Wink |first5=M. |bibcode=2016SyApM..39...88B }}</ref> Males typically have at least one "beard", a tuft of coarse hair-like filaments (mesofiloplumes), growing from the center of the breast.<ref name="craves">{{cite web |last=Craves|first=J.|title=Julie Craves explains Wild Turkey 'beards'|date=30 April 2021|website=BirdWatching|access-date=20 November 2022 |url = https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/beginners/birding-faq/julie-craves-explains-wild-turkey-beards/}}</ref> Beards grow continuously during the turkey's lifespan<ref name="mckee">{{cite web |title=Let's Talk Turkey Beards|last=McKee|first=J.|website=Audubon|url=https://www.audubon.org/news/lets-talk-turkey-beards|access-date=20 November 2022|date=18 November 2022}}</ref> and a one-year-old male has a beard up to {{convert|5|in|cm|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="craves"/> Approximately 10% of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male.<ref name="craves"/><ref name="mckee"/>

Females have feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull the coloration of both sexes; in males, vivid coloration may serve as a signal of health.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.03.013 |title=The effect of coccidial infection on iridescent plumage coloration in wild turkeys |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=69 |issue=2 |pages=387–94 |year=2005 |last1=Hill |first1=Geoffrey E. |last2=Doucet |first2=Stéphanie M. |last3=Buchholz |first3=Richard |s2cid=39103898 }}</ref> The primary wing feathers have white bars. Turkeys have approximately 5,000 to 6,000 feathers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wild Turkey Facts |url=https://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/wild_turkey_facts.html |website=nwtf.org |publisher=National Wild Turkey Federation |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113014324/http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/wild_turkey_facts.html |archive-date=2009-11-13}}</ref> Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between jakes and toms is that jakes have very short "beards" and tail fans with longer feathers in the middle. The tom's tail fan feathers are uniform in length.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Does a Wild Turkey Look Like? |url=https://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/new_turkey_look.html |website=nwtf.org |publisher=[[National Wild Turkey Federation]] |access-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108125409/http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/new_turkey_look.html |archive-date=2012-11-08}}</ref> 

[[File:Wild turkey in Concord California .jpg|thumb|Closeup of wild turkey tom]]
 
The turkey has the second-highest maximum average weight of any North American bird, after the [[trumpeter swan]] (''Cygnus buccinator''). By average mass, however, several other American birds surpass the mean weight of the turkey, including the [[American white pelican]] (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''), the [[tundra swan]] (''Cygnus columbianus columbianus''), the endangered [[California condor]] (''Gymnogyps californianus''), and [[whooping crane]] (''Grus americana'').<ref name = "Wood">{{cite book| last1=Wood |first1=G.L. | title = The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats| year = 1982 | isbn = 978-0-85112-235-9| url = https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood |location=Enfield, Middlesex, UK |publisher= Guinness Superlatives |edition=3rd }}</ref><ref name="CRC 1993" />

==Habitat==
[[File:Wild turkey closeup.JPG|thumb|right|Eastern subspecies]]
Wild turkeys prefer [[hardwood]] and mixed [[conifer]]-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as [[pasture]]s, [[Field (agriculture)|field]]s, [[orchard]]s and seasonal [[marsh]]es. They seemingly can adapt to virtually any dense native plant community as long as coverage and openings are widely available. Open, mature forest with a variety of interspersion of tree species appear to be preferred. In the Northeast of North America, turkeys are most profuse in hardwood timber of [[oak]]-[[hickory]] (''[[Quercus]]''-''[[Carya]]'') and forests of red oak (''[[Quercus rubra]]''), beech (''[[Fagus grandifolia]]''), cherry (''[[Prunus serotina]]'') and white ash (''[[Fraxinus americana]]''). Best ranges for turkeys in the [[Coastal Plain]] and [[Piedmont (United States)|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 the [[Appalachian Plateau]] and [[Cumberland Plateau]] birds occupy mixed forest of oaks and pines on southern and western slopes, also hickory with diverse understories. Bald cypress and sweet gum (''[[Liquidambar styraciflua]]'') swamps of south [[Florida]]; also hardwood of ''[[Cliftonia]]'' (a heath) and oak in north-central Florida. [[Lykes Brothers|Lykes]] [[Fisheating Creek]] area of south Florida has up to 51% cypress, 12% hardwood hammocks, 17% glades of short grasses with isolated live oak (''[[Quercus virginiana]]''); nesting in neighboring prairies. Original habitat here was mainly longleaf pine (''[[Pinus palustris]]'') with turkey oak (''[[Quercus laevis]]'') and slash pine (''[[Pinus elliottii]]'') "flatwoods", now mainly replaced by slash pine plantations.

In [[California]], turkeys live in a wide range of habitats; [[acorn]]s are a favorite food, in addition to wild oats (''[[Avena barbata]]''), drawing turkeys to areas of open oak forest and oak savanna across the central areas of the state. They frequent the lower-elevation oak woodlands of the [[Sierra Nevada]] foothills and [[California Coast Ranges|Coast Range]]s, and the central coast north through [[Mendocino County]], which is primarily open conifer forest with various species of [[ferns]] growing in the understory. They can also be found in the conifer foothills and fern-heavy forested areas of the [[Klamath Mountains]] and [[Cascade Range]] in the northern areas of the state. In [[San Diego County]], turkeys tend to be found farther from the coast, usually a minimum of 30–50 miles inland, at reasonably higher elevation; there is a healthy turkey population inhabiting the montane conifer woods and open oak forest habitats of the [[Cleveland National Forest]], a region which borders on [[High Desert (California)|high desert]] and generally receives very minimal annual precipitation. 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.

==Behavior==

===Flight===
[[File:Meleagris gallopavo in flight.gk.jpg|thumb|Wild turkey agile in flight]]
[[File:Wild Turkey (25473218982).jpg|thumb|Wild turkey, fast flier]]
Despite their weight, wild turkeys, unlike their [[domesticated turkey|domesticated counterparts]], are agile, fast fliers. In ideal habitat of open woodland or wooded grasslands,<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2008). [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 ''Wild turkey: Meleagris gallopavo'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725174654/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=2199 |date=2017-07-25 }}</ref> they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than 400''&nbsp;''m (a quarter mile).{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Wild turkeys have very good eyesight, but their vision is very poor at night. They will generally not see a predator until it is too late. At twilight most turkeys will head for the trees and roost well off the ground: it is safer to sleep there in numbers than to risk being victim to predators who hunt by night. Because wild turkeys do not migrate, in snowier parts of the species's habitat like the Northeast, Rockies, much of Canada, and the Midwest, it is very important for this bird to learn to select large conifer trees where they can fly onto the branches and shelter from blizzards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/behavior|title=Wild Turkey Behavior|website=www.nwtf.org|language=en|access-date=2018-11-12|archive-date=2018-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025453/https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/behavior|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Vocalizations===
Wild turkeys have many calls: assembly [[turkey call|call]], gobble, plain yelp, purr, cluck and purr, cluck, cutt, excited yelp, fly-down cackle, tree call, kee kee run, and putt.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 10, 2021 |title=The Sounds of the Wild Turkey |url=https://www.nwtf.org/content-hub/the-sounds-of-the-wild-turkey |access-date=August 21, 2023 |website=National Wild Turkey Federation}}</ref> In early spring, males older than a year old and, occasionally to a lesser extent, males younger than a year old gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble of a wild turkey can be heard up to a mile away.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound, produced by the movement of air in the [[air sac]] in the chest, similar to the booming of a [[prairie chicken]]. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit", which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sac.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

===Foraging===
[[File:Wild turkey with chicks.jpg|thumb|right|Hen with poults]]
Wild turkeys are [[omnivore|omnivorous]], foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed. They prefer eating [[acorn]]s, [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]], and other hard [[Mast (botany)|mast]] of various trees, including [[hazel]], [[chestnut]], [[hickory]], and [[pinyon pine]], as well as various [[seed]]s, [[Berry|berries]] such as [[juniper]] and [[bearberry]], [[bud]]s, [[leaves]], [[fern frond]]s, roots, and [[insect]]s.<ref name="animaldiversity.org">{{cite web |last1=Kirschbaum |first1=Kari |last2=McCullough |first2=Jason |title=Meleagris gallopavo (wild turkey) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Meleagris_gallopavo/ |website=Animal Diversity Web |language=en |access-date=2020-11-18 |archive-date=2020-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124232547/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Meleagris_gallopavo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Turkeys also occasionally consume [[amphibian]]s such as [[salamander]]s and small [[reptile]]s such as [[lizard]]s and small [[snake]]s.<ref name="animaldiversity.org" /> Poults have been observed eating insects, berries, and seeds. Wild turkeys often feed in cow [[pasture]]s, sometimes visit backyard bird feeders, and favor croplands after harvest to scavenge seeds on the ground. Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of [[grass]]es.
[[File:Wild Turkeys Foraging in Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|Wild turkeys foraging in the Appalachian Foothills of Pennsylvania]]
Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of their ability to forage for different types of food.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Early morning and late afternoon are the desired times for eating.

===Social structure and mating===
[[File:Wild turkey nest.jpg|thumb|upright|Nest found in Nelson County, Virginia]]
[[File:Wild turkey eggs from Ontario.jpg|thumb|upright|Nest in Ontario]]
Males are [[Animal sexual behaviour#Polygamy|polygamous]], mating with as many hens as they can. Male wild turkeys [[Display (zoology)|display]] for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails, and dragging their wings. This behavior is most commonly referred to as strutting. Their heads and necks are colored with red, white, and blue. The color can change with the turkey's mood, with a solid white head and neck being the most excited. They use gobbling, drumming/booming, and spitting as signs of social dominance, and to attract females. Courtship begins during the months of March and April, which is when turkeys are still flocked together in winter areas.

Males may be seen courting in groups, often with the dominant male gobbling, spreading his tail feathers (strutting), drumming/booming, and spitting. In a study, the average dominant male that courted as part of a pair of males fathered six more eggs than males that courted alone. Genetic analysis of pairs of males courting together shows that they are close relatives, with half of their genetic material being identical. The theory behind team-courtship is that the less-dominant male has a greater chance of passing along shared genetic material than if he were courting alone.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nature03325 |pmid=15744300 |title=Kin selection and cooperative courtship in wild turkeys |journal=Nature |volume=434 |issue=7029 |pages=69–72 |year=2005 |last1=Krakauer |first1=Alan H. |bibcode=2005Natur.434...69K |s2cid=1457512 }}</ref>

When mating is finished, females search for nest sites. Nests are shallow dirt depressions engulfed with woody vegetation. Hens lay a clutch of 10–14 eggs, usually one per day. The eggs are incubated for at least 28 days. The poults are [[precocial]] and [[nidifugous]], leaving the nest in about 12–24 hours. Turkeys are a ground nesting bird, and because of this they are heavily predated on; reproductively-active wild turkeys have a lower annual survival rate due to predation of nests.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Byrne |first1=Michael E. |first2=Michael J. |last2=Chamberlain |title=Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Adult Female Eastern Wild Turkeys in a Bottomland Hardwood Forest |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=2018 |pages=345–56 |doi=10.1656/058.017.0216|s2cid=90478338 }}</ref>

==Positive relationships with other wild species==

Turkeys will occasionally forage with [[deer]] and [[squirrel]]s, and may even play with them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkeys Play with Deer and Squirrels |date=15 September 2018 |publisher=BBC Earth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPZWGRcoleM |language=en |access-date=20 November 2022}}</ref> By foraging together, each can help the other watch for predators with their different senses: the deer with their improved olfactory sense, the turkey with its superior sight, and squirrels providing an additional set of eyes from the air.<ref>{{cite web
 | title = My Life as a Turkey
|year=2011–2012
 | publisher = BBC Nature
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0133r58
|access-date=20 November 2022 }}</ref>

==Predators==
Predators of eggs and nestlings include [[raccoon]]s (''Procyon lotor''), [[Virginia opossum]]s (''Didelphis virginiana''), [[striped skunk]]s (''Mephitis mephitis''), [[spotted skunk]]s (''Spilogale'' ssp.), [[red fox]]es (''Vulpes vulpes''), [[gray fox]]es (''Urocyon citnereoargenteus''), [[groundhog]]s (''Marmota monax''), among other [[rodent]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=B. W. |year=1978 |title=Ecological factors affecting wild turkey nest predation on south Texas rangelands |journal=Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies |volume=32 |pages=126–36 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Holdstock |first1=D. P. |last2=Wallace |first2=M. C. |last3=Ballard |first3=W. B. |last4=Brunjes |first4=J. H. |last5=Phillips |first5=R. S. |last6=Spears |first6=B. L. |last7=Gipson |first7=P. S. |year=2006 |title=Male Rio Grande turkey survival and movements in the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=904–13 |doi=10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[904:mrgtsa]2.0.co;2|s2cid=86170120 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pharris |first1=L. D. |first2=R. C. |last2=Goetz |year=1980 |title=An evaluation of artificial wild turkey nests monitored by automatic cameras |journal=Proceedings of the National Wild Turkey Symposium |volume=4 |pages=108–16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=L. E. |first2=D. H. |last2=Austin |first3=N. F. |last3=Eichholz |year=1976 |title=The breeding potential of the wild turkey hen |journal=Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies |volume=30 |pages=371–6 }}</ref> Predators of poults in addition to nestlings and eggs also include several species of snake, namely [[Elaphe|rat snake]]s (''Elaphe'' ssp.), [[Pituophis catenifer|gopher snakes]] (''Pituophis catenifer''), and [[Pituophis|pinesnakes]] (''Pituophis'' ssp.).

Avian predators of poults include [[Bird of prey|raptor]]s such as [[bald eagle]]s (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''), [[barred owl]] (''Strix varia''), [[red-shouldered hawk|red-shouldered]] (''Buteo lineatus''), [[red-tailed hawk|red-tailed]] (''Buteo jamaicensis''), [[white-tailed hawk|white-tailed]] (''Geranoaetus albicaudatus''), [[Harris's hawk|Harris's]] hawks (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), [[Cooper's hawk]] (''Accipiter cooperii''), and [[broad-winged hawk]] (''Buteo platypterus'') (both likely of very small poults).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reagan |first1=J. M. |first2=K.D. |last2=Morgan |year=1980 |title=Reproductive potential of Rio Grande turkey hens in the Edwards Plateau of Texas |journal=Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp |volume=4 |pages=136–44 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peoples |first1=J. C. |last2=Sisson |first2=D. C. |last3=Speake |first3=D. W. |year=1995 |title=Mortality of wild turkey poults in coastal plain pine forests |journal=Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies |volume=49 |pages=448–53 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beasom |first1=S.L. |last2=Pattee |first2=O.H. |year=1975 |title=An Encounter between a Turkey and a Bullsnake |journal=Wilson Bulletin |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=281–2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dreibelbis |first1=J. Z. |last2=Melton |first2=K. B. |last3=Aguirre |first3=R. |last4=Collier |first4=B. A. |last5=Hardin |first5=J. |last6=Silvy |first6=N. J. |last7=Peterson |first7=M. J. |year=2008 |title=Predation of Rio Grande wild turkey nests on the Edwards Plateau, Texas |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=120 |issue=4 |pages=906–10 |doi=10.1676/07-183.1|s2cid=53310713 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McEwan |first1=L. C. |last2=Hirth |first2=D. H. |year=1980 |title=Food habits of the bald eagle in north-central Florida |journal=Condor |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=229–31 |doi=10.2307/1367485|jstor=1367485 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haucke |first1=H.H. |year=1971 |title=Predation by a White-Tailed Hawk and a Harris Hawk on a Wild Turkey Poult |journal=Condor |volume=73 |issue=4 |page=475 |doi=10.2307/1366672|jstor=1366672 }}</ref> Mortality of poults is greatest in the first 14 days of life, especially of those roosting on the ground, decreasing most notably after half a year, when they attain near adult sizes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glidden |first1=J. W. |first2=D. E. |last2=Austin |year=1975 |title=Natality and mortality of wild turkey poults in southwestern New York |journal=Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp |volume=3 |pages=48–54 }}</ref>

[[File:Wild turkey and juveniles.jpg|thumb|upright|Hen with juveniles]]
In addition to poults, hens and adult-sized fledglings (but not, as far as is known, adult male toms) are vulnerable to predation by [[great horned owl]]s (''Bubo virginianus''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schemnitz|first1=S.D.|last2=Goerndt|first2=D.L.|last3=Jones|first3=H.|year=1985|title=Habitat needs and management of Merriam's turkeys in southcentral New Mexico|journal=Proc. Natl. Wild Turkey Symp|volume=5|pages=199–232}}</ref> [[American goshawk]] (''Accipiter atricapillus''),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Golet|first1=G.H.|last2=Golet|first2=H.T.|last3=Colton|first3=A.|year=2003|title=Immature Northern Goshawk Captures, Kills, and Feeds on Adult-Sized Wild Turkey|journal=Journal of Raptor Research|volume=37|issue=4|pages=337–40}}</ref> [[dog|domestic dogs]] (''Canis familiaris''), [[cat|domestic cats]] (''Felis catus''), and [[red fox]]es (''Vulpes vulpes'').<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goldyn|first1=B.|last2=Hromada|first2=M.|last3=Surmacki|first3=A.|last4=Tryjanowski|first4=P.|year=2003|title=Habitat use and diet of the red fox ''Vulpes vulpes'' in an agricultural landscape in Poland|journal=Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft|volume=49|issue=3|pages=191–200|doi=10.1007/BF02189737|bibcode=2003ZJag...49..191G |s2cid=43335225}}</ref> Predators of both adults and poults include [[coyote]]s (''Canis latrans''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=MacCracken |first1=J. G. |last2=Uresh |first2=D. W. |year=1984 |title=Coyote foods in the Black Hills, South Dakota |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=1420–3 |doi=10.2307/3801809|jstor=3801809 }}</ref> [[gray wolf|gray wolves]] (''Canis lupus''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reed |first1=J. E. |last2=Ballard |first2=W. B. |last3=Gipson |first3=P. S. |last4=Kelly |first4=B. T. |last5=Krausman |first5=P. R. |last6=Wallace |first6=M. C. |last7=Wester |first7=D. B. |year=2006 |title=Diets of free-ranging Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico |journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=1127–33 |doi=10.2193/0091-7648(2006)34[1127:dofmgw]2.0.co;2|s2cid=55402865 }}</ref> [[bobcat]]s (''Lynx rufus''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beasom |first1=S. L. |last2=Moore |first2=R. A. |year=1977 |title=Bobcat food habit response to a change in prey abundance |journal=The Southwestern Naturalist |pages=451–7 }}</ref> [[cougar]]s (''Puma concolor''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maehr |first1=D. S. |last2=Belden |first2=R. C. |last3=Land |first3=E. D. |last4=Wilkins |first4=L. |year=1990 |title=Food habits of panthers in southwest Florida |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=420–3 |doi=10.2307/3809651|jstor=3809651 }}</ref> [[Canada lynx]] (''Lynx canadensis'')'','' [[golden eagle]]s (''Aquila chrysaetos''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lehman |first1=C. P. |last2=Thompson |first2=D. J. |year=2004 |title=Golden Eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') predation attempts on Merriam's turkeys (''Meleagris gallopavo merriami'') in the southern Black Hills, South Dakota |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=38 |issue=2 |page=192 }}</ref> and possibly [[American black bear]]s (''Ursus americanus''), which also will eat the eggs if they find them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stratman |first1=M. R. |last2=Pelton |first2=M. R. |year=1999 |title=Feeding ecology of black bears in northwest Florida |journal=Florida Field Naturalist |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=95–102 }}</ref> The [[American alligator]] (''Alligator mississippiensis'') is a predator to all turkeys of all ages in the Southeast and will eat them if they get too close to water. Humans are now the leading predator of adult turkeys.<ref name="animaldiversity.org"/><ref>Kennamer, James Earl. [http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_16.pdf Predators and Wild Turkeys] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807155005/http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_16.pdf |date=2008-08-07 }}. NWTF Wildlife Bulletin NO.16</ref> When approached by potential predators, turkeys and their poults usually run rather than fly away, though they may also fly short distances if pressed. Another alternative behaviour, common in [[Galliformes]], is that when surprised with no time to flee, the poulets hide under the wings and body of the hen while she sits tight and still. Presumably, the hen has vocal and behavioural signals that trigger the poults to instinctively run to the hen for cover.[[File:Wild Turkey hen sitting tight with poulets under her wings and body.jpg|thumb|A hen caught in the open hides her young poults beneath her wings and body.]]

Occasionally, if cornered, adult turkeys may try to fight off predators and large male toms can be especially aggressive in self-defense. When fighting off predators, turkeys may kick with their legs, using the spurs on their back of the legs as a weapon, bite with their beak, and ram with their relatively large bodies and may be able to deter predators up to the size of mid-sized mammals.<ref>[http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/predators.html Wild Turkey Predators, Wild Turkey Predation: National Wild Turkey Federation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110135422/http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/predators.html |date=2012-11-10 }}. Nwtf.org. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.</ref><ref>[http://waterandwoods.net/2008/09/wild-turkey-predators/ Wild Turkey Predators] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626144707/http://waterandwoods.net/2008/09/wild-turkey-predators/ |date=2012-06-26 }}. Waterandwoods.net (2008-09-20). Retrieved on 2012-12-19.</ref> Hens have been observed chasing off at least two species of hawks in flight when their poults are threatened.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=R.R. |year=1961 |title=Aerial Pursuit of Hawks by Turkeys |journal=The Auk |volume=78 |issue=4 |page=646 |doi=10.2307/4082208|jstor=4082208 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Wild turkeys are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be frightened or provoked to behave with aggression. They are most likely to attack if startled, cornered, harassed, or if approached too closely. Attacks and potential injuries can usually be avoided by giving wild turkeys a respectful amount of space and keeping outdoor spaces clean and undisturbed.<ref>[http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/livingwith_wildlife/turkeys/index.html Living with wildlife: Turkey: Minnesota DNR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028012749/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/livingwith_wildlife/turkeys/index.html |date=2012-10-28 }}. Dnr.state.mn.us. Retrieved on 2012-12-19.</ref> Also, turkeys that are habituated to seeing people, at places like parks or campgrounds, can be tame and will even feed from the hands of people. Male toms occasionally will attack parked cars and reflective surfaces, thinking they see another turkey and must defend their territory.

==Range and population==
[[File:Milwaukee Public Museum April 2023 009 (The Southeast--A Bird of the Deciduous Forest, Wild Turkey, Georgia).jpg|thumb|''A Bird of the Deciduous Forest, Wild Turkey, Georgia'' diorama at the [[Milwaukee Public Museum]]]]

At the beginning of the 20th century the range and numbers of wild turkeys had plummeted due to overhunting and habitat loss. When Europeans arrived in the New World, they were found from the southeastern US to Mexico. Turkeys were first domesticated by native peoples in Mexico and brought back to Europe during colonization. European settlers brought domesticated turkeys to the northern portions of North America during the 17th century. Habitat loss and market hunting were major factors in the decline of wild populations for the next two centuries.<ref name="Terres (1996)">Terres, John K. 1996. ''The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds.'' Random House Value Publishing, Inc. Avenel, New Jersey. 1109 pp. (see pages 946-947) {{ISBN|0-517-03288-0 }}</ref>	

Game managers estimate that the entire population of wild turkeys in the United States was as low as 30,000 by the late 1930s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|chapter=The Fall and Rise of the Edible Turkey|title=Wild Food: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2004|editor-last=Hosking|editor-first=Richard|location=Totnes, Devon, UK|publisher=Prospect Books|date=2006|page=298|isbn=978-1-903018-43-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=juAabiJpnn0C|access-date=2017-11-22|archive-date=2016-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509024445/https://books.google.com/books?id=juAabiJpnn0C|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 1940s, it was almost totally extirpated from [[Canada]] and had become localized in pockets in the United States, in the north-east effectively restricted to the [[Appalachians]], only as far north as central Pennsylvania. Early attempts used hand-reared birds, a practice that failed miserably as the birds were unable to survive in the wild at all and many had imprinted far too much on humans to effectively survive. Game officials later made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population. They would wait for numbers to grow, catch the surplus birds with a device that would have a projectile net that would ensnare the creature, move it to another unoccupied territory, and repeat the cycle. Over time this included some in the western states where it was not native. There is evidence that the bird does well when near farmland, which provides grain and also berry-bearing shrubs at its edges.<ref name=Dickson>{{cite book |last1=Dickson |first1=James G. |title=The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management |series=National Wild Turkey Federation and USDA Forest Service book |year=1992 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-1859-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oVICEKm1U04C&pg=PA362}}</ref>{{rp|368-379}} As wild turkey numbers rebounded, hunting became legal in 49 U.S. states (excluding [[Alaska]]). In 1973, the total U.S. population was estimated to be 1.3 million, and current{{When|date=April 2022}} estimates place the entire wild turkey population at 7 million individuals. Since the 1980s, "trap and transfer" projects have reintroduced wild turkeys to several provinces of Canada as well, sometimes from across the border in the United States. They appear to be very successful as of 2018 as wild turkeys have multiplied rapidly and flourished in places where they were not expected to survive by Canadian scientists, often quite far north of their original expected range.

Attempts to introduce the wild turkey to [[Great Britain|Britain]] as a game bird in the 18th century were unsuccessful.{{efn|These birds were imported from [[Mexico]], then called the [[Spanish West Indies]]. They did not come from Turkey or India, as was widely believed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/turkey.htm |title=Talking Turkey |website=World Wide Words |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207215349/http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/turkey.htm |archive-date=2006-12-07}}</ref>}} [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] is said to have kept a flock of a few thousand in [[Richmond Park]] near London, but they were too easy for local [[poaching|poachers]] to steal, and the fights with poachers became too dangerous for the [[gamekeeper]]s. They were hunted with dogs and then shot out of trees where they took refuge. Several other populations, introduced or escaped, have survived for periods elsewhere in Britain and [[Ireland]], but seem to have died out, perhaps from a combination of lack of winter feed and poaching.<ref name=Dickson/>{{rp|363}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maxwell |first1=William Hamilton |title=The field book; or, Sports and pastimes of the British islands, by the author of Wild sports of the West |page=540 |location=London |year=1833 |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldbookorspor00unkngoog/page/n551}}</ref> Small populations, probably descended from farm as well as wild stock, in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Germany]] have been more successful, and there are wild populations of some size following introductions in [[Hawaii]] and [[New Zealand]].<ref name=Dickson/>{{rp|363-368}}

The [[Californian turkey]] (''Meleagris californica'') is an extinct species of [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] indigenous to the [[Pleistocene]] and early [[Holocene]] of [[California]]. It became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The present Californian wild turkey population derives from wild turkeys introduced to the region during the 1960s and 1970s from other areas by game officials.<ref>California Department of Fish and Game. [http://www.dfg.ca.gov/publications/docs/turkeyguide.pdf Wild Turkey Guide 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027032554/http://www.dfg.ca.gov/publications/docs/turkeyguide.pdf |date=2008-10-27 }}.</ref> They proliferated after 2000 to become an everyday sight in the [[East Bay]] by 2015.<ref name=rub>{{cite web |last1=Rubio |first1=Tena |date=November 27, 2015 |title=Like It or Not, Wild Turkeys Proliferate in East Bay |url=http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/11/27/like-it-or-not-wild-turkeys-proliferate-in-east-bay |website=kqed.org |access-date=27 November 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208113108/http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/11/27/like-it-or-not-wild-turkeys-proliferate-in-east-bay |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Subspecies==
There are subtle differences in the coloration, habitat, and behavior of the different subspecies of wild turkeys. The six subspecies are:

[[File:09-03 NFlaWildTurkeys.JPG|thumb|right|Eastern wild turkey]]

===Eastern wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo silvestris'')===
<!-- [[Meleagris gallopavo silvestris]] and [[Eastern wild turkey]] redirect to this heading-->
This was the turkey subspecies Europeans first encountered in the wild: by the [[Puritan]]s, the founders of [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], the Dutch who lived in New York, and by the [[Acadian]]s. Its range is one of the largest of all subspecies, covering the entire eastern half of the United States from [[Maine]] in the north to northern Florida and extending as far west as [[Minnesota]], [[Illinois]], and into [[Missouri]]. In Canada, its range extends into Southeastern [[Manitoba]], [[Ontario]], Southwestern [[Quebec]] (including [[Pontiac, Quebec]] and the lower half of the [[Western Quebec Seismic Zone]]), and the [[Maritimes|Maritime Provinces]]. They number from 5.1 to 5.3 million birds. They were first named 'forest turkey' in 1817, and can grow up to {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr = on}} tall. The upper tail coverts are tipped with chestnut brown. Males can reach {{convert|30|lb|kg|abbr = on}} in weight. The eastern wild turkey is heavily hunted in the Eastern USA and is the most hunted wild turkey subspecies.

===Osceola wild turkey or Florida wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo osceola'')===
Most common in the Florida peninsula, they number from 80,000 to 100,000 birds. This bird is named for the famous [[Seminole]] leader [[Osceola]], and was first described in 1890. It is smaller and darker than the eastern wild turkey. The wing feathers are very dark with smaller amounts of the white barring seen on other subspecies. Their overall body feathers are an [[Iridescence|iridescent]] green-purple color. They are often found in scrub patches of palmetto and occasionally near swamps, where amphibian prey is abundant. Osceola turkeys are the smallest subspecies weighing {{convert|16|to|18|lb|0}}.

[[File:Wild Turkey Walking.jpg|thumb|right|Rio Grande wild turkey has relatively long legs]]

===Rio Grande wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo intermedia'')===
<!-- [[Rio Grande wild turkey]] redirects to this heading -->
The Rio Grande wild turkey ranges through Texas to [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], [[New Mexico]], [[Colorado]], [[Oregon]], [[Utah]], and was introduced to central and western [[California]], as well as parts of a few northeastern states.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} It was also introduced to [[Hawaii|Hawai{{okina}}i]] in the late 1950s. Population estimates for this subspecies are around 1,000,000.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kennamer|first=Mary C.|title=NWTF Wildlife Bulletin No. 3: Rio Grande Wild Turkey|url=http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_3_9-9-09.pdf|publisher=NWTF|access-date=2013-05-25|archive-date=2013-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418024828/http://www.nwtf.org/conservation/bulletins/bulletin_3_9-9-09.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This subspecies, native to the central plain states, was first described in 1879, and has relatively long legs, better adapted to a prairie habitat. Its body feathers often have a green-coppery sheen. The tips of the tail and lower back feathers are a buff-to-very light tan color. Its habitats are brush areas next to streams, rivers or [[mesquite]], [[pine]] and scrub oak forests. The Rio Grande turkey is [[gregarious]].

===Merriam's wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo merriami'')===
<!-- [[Merriam's turkey]] and [[Merriam's wild turkey]] redirect to this heading -->
The Merriam's wild turkey ranges through the [[Rocky Mountains]] and the neighboring [[prairie]]s of [[Wyoming]], [[Montana]] and [[South Dakota]], as well as much of the high mesa country of [[New Mexico]], [[Arizona]], southern [[Utah]] and the [[Navajo Nation]], with number from 334,460 to 344,460 birds.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} The subspecies has also been introduced into [[Oregon]]. The initial releases of Merriam's turkeys in 1961 resulted in establishing a remnant population of Merriam's turkeys along the east-slope of Mt. Hood and natural immigration of turkeys from Idaho has established Merriam's flocks along the eastern border of Oregon.<ref>[http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/management_plans/wild_turkey/ "Oregon State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Division, Wild Turkey Management Plan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620152031/http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/management_plans/wild_turkey/ |date=2011-06-20 }}.</ref> Merriam's wild turkeys live in [[ponderosa pine]] and mountainous regions. The subspecies was named in 1900 in honor of [[Clinton Hart Merriam]], the first chief of the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Biological Survey]]. The tail and lower back feathers have white tips and purple and bronze reflections.

===Gould's wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo mexicana'')===
[[File:Gould Wild turkey.jpg|thumb|right|Gould's wild turkey]]
Native from the central valleys to the northern mountains of [[Mexico]] and the southernmost parts of [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]]. Gould's wild turkeys are heavily protected and regulated. The subspecies was first described in 1856. They exist in small numbers in the U.S. but are abundant in northwestern portions of Mexico. A small population has been established in southern Arizona. Gould's are the largest of the six subspecies. They have longer legs, larger feet, and longer tail feathers. The main colors of the body feathers are copper and greenish-gold. This subspecies is heavily protected owing to its skittish nature and threatened status.

===South Mexican wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo'')===
The south Mexican wild turkey is considered the [[nominate subspecies]], and the only one that is not found in the United States or Canada. In central Mexico, archaeological ''M. gallopavo'' bones have been identified at sites dating to 800–100''&nbsp;''BC.{{Cn|date=November 2023}} It is unclear whether these early specimens represent wild or domestic individuals, but domestic turkeys were likely established in central Mexico by the first half of the Classic Period (c. AD''&nbsp;''200–1000). Late Preclassic (300''&nbsp;''BC–AD''&nbsp;''100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the export of the south Mexican wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo'') to the ancient Maya world. The south [[Mexico|Mexican]] wild subspecies, ''M. g. gallopavo'', was [[Agriculture in Mesoamerica|domesticated]] either in Mexico or by Preclassic peoples in [[Mesoamerica]], giving rise to the [[domestic turkey]] (''M. g. domesticus'').<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0042630 |pmid=22905156 |pmc=3414452 |title=Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for Pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=8 |article-number=e42630 |year=2012 |last1=Thornton |first1=Erin Kennedy |last2=Emery |first2=Kitty F. |last3=Steadman |first3=David W. |last4=Speller |first4=Camilla |last5=Matheny |first5=Ray |last6=Yang |first6=Dongya |bibcode=2012PLoSO...742630T |doi-access=free }}</ref> The Spaniards brought this tamed subspecies back to Europe with them in the mid-16th century; from Spain it spread to France and later Britain as a farmyard animal, usually becoming the centerpiece of a feast for the well-to-do. By 1620 it was common enough so that Pilgrim settlers of Massachusetts could bring turkeys with them from [[England]], unaware that it had a larger close relative already occupying the forests of Massachusetts. It is one of the smallest subspecies and is best known in Spanish from its Aztec-derived name, {{Lang|es|guajolote}}. This wild turkey subspecies is thought to be critically endangered, as of 2010.

[[File:6 Wild Turkey.jpg|thumb|right|Female wild turkey with young, from ''[[Birds of America (book)|Birds of America]]'' by [[John James Audubon]]]]
[[File:20251015 smoke morph wild turkey near matthei botanical garden PD204621.jpg|thumb|right|Smoke-morph wild turkey (right), a relatively rare color morph almost exclusively manifested in females.<ref name="smoke-morph">{{cite web |last1=Wallington |first1=Natalie |title=Wild Fact About Wild Turkeys: They Come in a Cornucopia of Colors |url=https://www.audubon.org/news/wild-fact-about-wild-turkeys-they-come-cornucopia-colors |website=Audubon |access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref>]]

==Benjamin Franklin and the myth of U.S. national bird suggestion==
The idea that [[Benjamin Franklin]] preferred the turkey as the national bird of the United States comes from a letter he wrote to his daughter Sarah Bache on 26&nbsp;January 1784.<ref>{{cite web |title=Benjamin Franklin to Sarah Bache, January 26, 1784 |website=[[Library of Congress]] |department=Manuscript Division |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/franklin-newrepublic.html#29 |access-date=January 28, 2018 |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404211639/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/franklin-newrepublic.html#29 |url-status=live }}</ref> The main subject of the letter is a criticism of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], which he likened to a [[chivalric order]], which contradicted the ideals of the newly founded American [[republic]].<ref name = Heraldry>{{cite web |title= The Arms of the United States: Benjamin Franklin and the Turkey |date=2007-05-18 |series=American Heraldry Society |id=MMM |publisher=Americanheraldry.org |url=http://americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=MMM.Turkey |access-date=2012-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082418/http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=MMM.Turkey |archive-date=2014-04-27}}</ref> In one section of the letter, Franklin remarked on the appearance of the [[bald eagle]] on the Society's crest:

{{cquote|Others object to the Bald Eagle, as looking too much like a Dindon, or Turkey. For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[osprey]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little [[Kingbird|King Bird]] not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country&nbsp;...<br/><br/>
I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For in Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America ... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.}}

Franklin never publicly voiced opposition to the bald eagle as a national symbol, nor did he ever publicly suggest the turkey as a national symbol.<ref name=Heraldry/><ref>{{cite web |title=Did Benjamin Franklin want the national bird to be a turkey? |series=Benjamin Franklin frequently asked questions |website=Franklin Institute |date=28 June 2017 |url=https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/franklin-national-bird |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906120432/https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/franklin-national-bird |url-status=live }}</ref> The story has been called a myth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=cmccole |date=2017-06-28 |title=Did Benjamin Franklin Want the National Bird To Be A Turkey? {{!}} The Franklin Institute |url=https://fi.edu/en/science-and-education/benjamin-franklin/national-bird |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=fi.edu |language=en}}</ref>

==Significance to Native Americans==
[[File:Female wild turkeys.jpg|thumb|right|Eastern wild turkey (''M. g. silvestris'') hens]]
The wild turkey, throughout its range, plays a significant role in the cultures of many [[Native American tribe]]s all over North America. It is a favorite meal in eastern tribes. Eastern Native American tribes consumed both the eggs and meat, sometimes turning the latter into a type of jerky to preserve it and make it last through cold weather. They provided habitat by burning down portions of forests to create meadows which would attract mating birds, and thus give a clear shot to hunters. The feathers of turkeys also often made their way into the rituals and headgear of many tribes. Many leaders, such as [[Catawba (tribe)|Catawba]] chiefs, traditionally wore turkey feather headdresses.<ref name=Pritzker>{{cite book |last1=Pritzker |first1=Barry M. |title=A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-513877-1}}</ref>{{rp|367}}

Significant peoples of several tribes, including [[Muscogee Creek]] and [[Wampanoag people|Wampanoag]], wore turkey feather cloaks.<ref name=Pritzker/>{{rp|381, 474}} The turkey clan is one of the three [[Lenape]] clans.<ref name=Pritzker/>{{rp|423}} Movements of wild turkeys inspired the [[Caddo]] tribe's [[turkey dance]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/tejas/voices/today.html |title=Caddo Nation Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113071330/http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/tejas/voices/today.html |archive-date=2010-11-13 |website=Texas Beyond History |access-date=28 Dec 2010}}</ref> The [[Navajo people]] of Northeastern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah call the turkey {{Lang|nv|Tązhii}} and relate the bird to the corn and seeds which The Turkey in Navajo folklore brought from the Third Navajo World. It is one of the Navajos' sacred birds, with the Navajo people using the feathers and parts in multiple traditional ceremonies.

==See also==
* [[Heritage turkey]]
* [[Turkeypox virus]]

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100125094041/http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/eagle.asp Turkey as U.S. national bird]
* [http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/turkey.htm Turkeys from England]
*[http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/index.html National Wild Turkey Federation&nbsp;– Map of the locations of the five sub-species of wild turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060415011059/http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/index.html |date=2006-04-15 }}
*View the [http://www.ensembl.org/Meleagris_gallopavo/Info/Index/ turkey genome] in [[Ensembl]]
* {{InternetBirdCollection|wild-turkey-meleagris-gallopavo|Wild turkey}}
* {{VIREO|Wild+Turkey|Wild turkey}}

{{North American Game}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q26844}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Meleagris]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Birds of Canada]]
[[Category:Game birds]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Hunting in the United States]]
[[Category:Birds of the United States]]
[[Category:Birds of Mexico]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Symbols of Alabama]]
[[Category:Cuisine of New England]]
[[category:Cuisine of the Southwestern United States]] 
[[category:Thanksgiving food]]
[[Category:Least concern biota of the United States]]