| Turkey is largest
game bird in North America By Jay V. Huner Journal Correspondent |
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Spring means turkey time in the piney woods and hardwood bottoms between the hills. These huge birds are the largest game birds in North America, resembling huge brown-black chickens on steroids. The normal turkey season extends from March into April but some states have turkey seasons in the fall. Hunters target adult male turkeys called Toms. Immature males called Jakes and females called Hens are, under most circumstances, protected. Turkeys breed in the spring. The Toms will sometimes gather and strut, posture and gobble to attract Hens. Hunters will use calls to imitate Hens to attract Toms into range. These calls often use slate surfaces rubbed together and real purists use turkey wing bones to scratch out enticing calls. Toms are wary and hunters wear full camouflage. Hunters use full choke 10 and 12 gauge shotguns designed to hold a tight pattern of heavy shot to get killing head shots. It is unlikely that hunters will shoot anyone, but the hunter whose hunt is ruined will make a fuss. This can be very un-nerving at close range when the hunter materializes from nowhere. Wild Turkeys are smaller than the domestic variety and much darker in color. However, 30 pound Toms have been found. Wild Turkeys were originally domesticated in Mexico by Native Americans. The Spanish conquerors took these turkeys to Europe. Some decades later, English settlers brought turkeys with them to North America only to find that Wild Turkeys abounded there already. However, there are six different subspecies of Wild Turkeys in North America including the progenitors of our domestic stock. Watching Tom turkeys, wild or domestic, strutting and displaying is quite a spectacle. They fluff up their feathers, spread their tails, and seemingly double in size. The red purple, green, copper, bronze and gold iridescent feathers are striking. The bare-skinned head is blue and red, the wattles on their throats are red and the snood across the beak is also red. The breast tuft is called a "beard" by hunters and there may be as many as three beards. Hunters consider a Tom's beard, especially a long one, to be a major trophy to be worn with pride. Note that a few Hens have smallish beards. Toms mate with as many Hens as possible but do not care for the offspring. Hens nest on the ground adjacent to logs or in brush tops. Ten to fourteen eggs can be laid. Newly hatched turkeys are able to forage when they hatch. Several Hens and their broods may join together. Young birds grow quickly on diets of insects, berries, and nuts. Small reptiles and amphibians are fair game. Wild Turkeys will also forage on crops left in agricultural fields in fall and winter. Benjamin Franklin was very impressed by Wild Turkeys. In a letter to his daughter, he said that the Wild Turkey would have been a more suitable National Bird than the Bald Eagle. Franklin considered Bald Eagles to be lazy birds who often stole fish caught by Ospreys and prone to eat carrion. Anyone visiting the piney woods regularly will see Wild Turkeys. But, turkey populations were very low in the mid-1900s. I recall being surprised finding turkeys around my wife's home in western Vernon Parish, Louisiana in the 1960s. Conservation programs including wide spread restocking and vigorous enforcement of turkey protection laws have made the difference. Much credit can be given to the National Wild Turkey Federation and its state affiliates. Jay V. Huner |
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