Eastern Wild Turkey
Sportman's Life Staff | Comments 0
The eastern wild turkey lives in roughly the eastern half of the US and is the most popular of the hunted turkey species. It also has the widest range in terms of areas it inhabits. The eastern wild turkey can be found in hardwood forests primarily anywhere from the north eastern states and southern Canada all the way south to Florida, out west through Texas and Missouri, and on north up through Iowa and Minnesota. It has also been introduced successfully to certain US states where it was not found naturally.
The further north wild turkeys are found, generally the larger the bird, and since the eastern wild turkey has the greatest range it is usually considered the largest of the subspecies. Adult males, called a tom or gobbler because of the call they make, can grow to be almost 4 feet tall when standing and weigh in excess of 20lbs. The tips of it’s tail, which it fans out when attracting a mate, are golden bronze in color and will contrast with other parts of the tail feathers which are chestnut brown with dark barring. The breast feathers are gray and black at the ends while other body feathers have an iridescence that makes them appear dark from a distance and shine metallic up close.
The main feathers on the wings have black and white bars that extend from the outside in to the main beam. The other wing feathers have more white on them when makes for a bit of a white patch that appears on the sides of the bird when the wings are folded up next to the body.
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Popularity: 2%
Filed Under: Eastern
