Notes from the Land: How Wild Turkeys Made a Comeback in Minnesota
Caruncle, wattle, snood, beard
Tom, hen, jenny, jake
gobble, strut, gobble strut
A new language? Some kind of secret code?
Nope, they all refer to Meleagris gallopavo or the Wild Turkey.
It’s an exciting thing to hear a gobble in the distance in the spring. It is yet another signal that the seasons are changing and new life across the wildlife spectrum is soon to come.
Wild turkeys, a common sight nowadays, can be found throughout the United States (except for Alaska), Canada and Mexico. If you watch them skulk across the landscape you may be reminded of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park.
Thirty years ago, wild turkeys were not seen in Minnesota because of unregulated hunting and habitat loss due to logging. The early 1970’s brought about efforts for reintroduction through a trade with the state of Missouri and the Minnesota DNR. Minnesota offered a flock of homegrown ruffed grouse and traded for 29 Missouri turkeys. These birds were released in Houston County in southeastern Minnesota.
This first rafter (group) of turkeys took off so well, that over the next few years more were trapped and moved northward. One of the release sites was Belwin Conservancy. In 1989 Belwin funded a release of 20 birds on their Education Property. School children, on a field trip from St. Paul Public Schools, actually did the release! A second release occurred over the next year or two, this time with radio trackers on some of the birds. One of the surprising pieces of data from this was that the birds were moving across the river of their own accord.
A few amazing fun facts about the wild turkey!
- Male turkeys are called toms, female turkeys are called hens, young male turkeys are called jakes, young female turkeys are called jennies.
- Turkeys can swim! When they need to, they can swim by tucking their wings in close, spreading their tails and kicking their strong legs.
- Turkeys can hear three times better than humans, which is one reason they are hard to hunt.
- Turkeys can run up to 25 mph, fly straight up 50 feet, and fly at 55 mph in short bursts.
- During mating season the head of a turkey turns red, white and blue! The three head appendages (wattle, caruncle, snood) during mating season, are like mood rings. They express emotions that can range from confidence, calmness, aggression or submission, depending on the situation.
A few fun words!
- Snood (rhymes with food): The attention grabbing fleshy appendage that hangs over the beak.
Snood size is one of the factors that dictates whether a hen will mate with a tom. - Caruncle: The noticeable bumps on a turkey’s head. The larger the caruncles, the more testosterone the tom has.
- Wattle (also known as a dewlap): Fleshy appendages that hang from the chin of the turkey. The larger the wattle the more dominant the tom.
- Beard: These specialized feathers resemble horsehair and grow out of the center of the chest on male turkeys! The longer the beard the older and usually more dominant the tom.
Turkeys are commonplace today and as a result of the reintroduction success Minnesota has not one, but two turkey hunting seasons. Even if you don’t hunt with a gun, it’s worth it to hunt with your ears and track down a gobbler/tom (male) and watch the majestic strutting they do to impress the hens (females).
Happy turkey hunting!
For more info visit these websites:
- How to Read a Turkey’s Mood With Body Language
- Wild turkey | Minnesota DNR
- 6 Fun Facts About Turkeys
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