Eastern Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Review these articles to learn more about the characteristics of wild turkey and how to improve wild turkey habitat in your woodlands.

40 Days + 40 Nights (National Wild Turkey Federation)
Take a look at what contributes to a successful nesting site, because once the first egg is laid, the female has tied herself to that spot for the next 40 days.

Wild Turkeys and Pollinators (National Wild Turkey Federation)
Studies have shown a direct relationship between plant diversity and pollinator diversity. The more robust and diverse plant communities are, the more diversified insect and pollinator communities will be. Wild turkeys, too, benefit from a mixed plant and insect community.

North Carolina Wildlife Profiles – Wild Turkey (N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission)
Male Wild turkeys are called gobblers or toms. Females are called hens. Males attract females by gobbling and strutting. Very young turkeys are called poults. Juvenile females are called jennies. Juvenile males are jakes.

Working With Wildlife: Wild Turkey (NC State Cooperative Extension)
The eastern wild turkey is a large game bird present throughout most of North Carolina. Due to habitat loss and over hunting during the early 1900s, turkey populations declined dramatically. With awareness of issues affecting turkey populations and effective population restoration and habitat management, wild turkeys are again abundant.

Birds of North Carolina: Wild Turkey (Carolina Bird Club)
Populations of Wild Turkeys have rebounded spectacularly across the state, thanks to release programs by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Once a widespread and not uncommon bird in the first half of the 20th Century, populations plunged dramatically from the 1960’s into the 1980’s.

Wild Turkey Habitat Management (NY State Department of Environmental Conservation)
In the last several decades, many people throughout the Northeastern United States have come to love the wild turkey. While many are happy just to see or hunt turkeys on other people’s land, others want to manage their land to benefit turkeys. Let’s take a look at what someone who owns 50-100 acres can expect to be able to do for the wild turkey.

Why the Strut? (National Wild Turkey Federation)
If you’re a turkey hunter, chances are you’ve seen a strutting turkey. And, it’s likely you live on the high of seeing another. So why are humans, and turkeys alike, so fascinated with gazing upon all 18 tail feathers of a puffy-fanned gobbler? And how, exactly, is the species capable of producing such a display?

Wild Turkey Body Language (National Wild Turkey Federation)
Know and understand the ways turkeys communicate. Turkeys, like deer, transmit their status, mood and intention through behavior, vocalization and body language.

The Wild Turkey Nesting Ritual (National Wild Turkey Federation)
Each passing day hens transfer more attention to nest care than noticing toms. Here is what you can expect with each nearing day to summer in the world of turkey nesting.

Wild Facts About Wild Turkeys (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Those odd birds at your Thanksgiving table are even wilder than you thought. Amuse your guests with some offbeat turkey facts.